123 Residents Flee Hotel Fire

A spectacular fire swept through the fourth floor and attic of the Hotel Ferraro near MacArthur Park on Thursday, forcing 85 state prison parolees who live there and 38 other paying residents to find other quarters.

A ground-floor tenant, who slept through most of the blaze, was treated for smoke inhalation. Two firefighters suffered wrist burns, and a third firefighter suffered a sprained ankle.

Hundreds watched from the park and from across the street as 125 firefighters from 30 engine companies battled the fire at 6th and Alvarado streets for more than 90 minutes. Flames shot through the roof, and smoke rose hundreds of feet and drifted over the downtown area.

The fire, reported at 10:55 a.m., was controlled at 12:33 p.m., Los Angeles city fire Inspector Ed Reed said. He said damage will exceed $1 million. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

Residents made homeless by the fire were directed to a shelter set up by the Red Cross at Virgil Junior High School. State authorities found other quarters for parolees who had stayed at the hotel while they looked for jobs.

As the hotel burned, the owner, Syed Ali, watched from an alley behind the U-shaped, stucco building and talked about spending $1.5 million to refurbish the structure in 1983-84.

“I feel terrible,” he said.

In a recent interview, Ali said that after opening the hotel in time for the Olympics he found that so many homeless parolees were living there by using general relief vouchers that he decided to make a permanent arrangement with the state.

Before the fire, the Department of Corrections was paying Ali $22.50 a day per parolee on a two-year, $1.4 million contract that netted Ali $150,000 a year. The hotel had its own state parole agent, Robert Hodge.

“These people had served their time and were on parole,” Hodge said. “The reason they were there is because they were homeless.”

Hodge was in his office when the fire broke out.

“I saw a lot of smoke,” he said. “I went up to the roof and found it burning, and I went through the building knocking on doors.”