City Mulls Next Steps After 2nd Arson Fire In 11 Months Guts Vacant, Historic Pasadena Home

One of Pasadena’s oldest homes has been reduced to a scorched shell, and a public hazard, after the second arson fire in less than a year engulfed it in flames on Wednesday night.

Now, the City is trying to figure out what to do about the eviscerated 131-year-old Victorian-style home at 30 W. Mountain Street, which went up in flames late Wednesday. Police detained Kristoffer Eugene Caldwell, 38, of Pasadena at the scene and ultimately arrested him on suspicion of arson.

Neighbors had already been complaining that the bank-owned home was a nuisance, an eyesore and health hazard ever since another arson fire caused about $1.4-million worth of damage to the structure last September. No suspects have been jailed in connection with that fire.

Now, the house is considered a total loss, Pasadena spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said. It needs to be demolished, and the City plans to work with the owner to get that done as soon as possible.

“Our Building and Safety Department is meeting with Code Compliance at the location this afternoon to determine steps moving forward,” Derderian said Thursday. “We’ll make sure it’s secure and attempt to contact the rightful owners.”

City officials said the home is owned by U.S. Bank.

City Councilmember John Kennedy said the current state of the destroyed home required swift action.

“I don’t know what the typical timeline is, but it would be my expectation that City government would move with all deliberate speed to have the property made safe,” he said. “That means that the demolition of the existing structure, in whatever state it is today, would be my hope and expectation. We’ve had other properties in abandonment that the city was able to force the owners to demolish or ameliorate… And so that would be my hope for this property as well.”

“It’s beyond just the nuisance point at this juncture in this long drawn-out saga of making the property owner do the right thing,” Kennedy said.

The property has drawn community ire since last year’s fire, according to the Councilmember.

“It went up for auction and I believe it did not sell. And then subsequently, neighbors contacted me, contacted the City, to get involved,” he said. “I was told that Code Enforcement and other arms of local governments were involved in trying to rectify that situation.”

Mary Wright Falvey has been working to have the home protected as a historical landmark for years. Her great grandfather, Amos Wright, built the home in 1886. Her grandfather was born there.

“One of the first homes built in Pasadena and I would have loved to have seen it restored, but I had no power and I am just sick that it had to go down like that,” she said.

The home left the family’s ownership before she was born, but Falvey said she still feels a strong connection to it.

Prior to the first fire, “I was keeping a very close eye on it and noticed that people were going in there and using it,” she said. “Then I realized also that you could easily get in. The back was all open, so I appealed to the police. I was getting into the paperwork, trying to hang on to it and to get someone to buy it and take care of the property when the first fire hit.”

Falvey said she last stopped by the home about two weeks ago.

It was not clear if the two suspected arson fires were related.

Despite neighborhood rumors, officials said there were no signs that either the suspect or the arson were linked to gangs. An alleged motive has not been released.