Another Fire

Rancho Cordova Little League calls for help after blaze destroys gear.

By Deb Kollars

Published 12:00 am PDT Sunday, June 22, 2008
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B3

With a major tournament coming, the Rancho Cordova Little League is facing a crisis.

A fire in three portable toilets Friday spread to a steel equipment shed and destroyed the bulk of the league's gear and equipment.

On Saturday, volunteers worked amid high temperatures and unpleasant fire fumes to clean the mess at Ahlstrom Park. The park is next to Cordova Lane Elementary School in Rancho Cordova, near Zinfandel Drive and Cordova Lane.

Volunteers will continue the job of filling dumpsters, cleaning and painting today.

Bats, balls, bases, gloves, catcher and umpire gear, electronic sound and scoreboard equipment, a pitching machine, coolers, a barbecue grill, fencing, banners and team memorabilia were among the many items destroyed in the blaze, said Dennis Lanantia, president of the league.

A riding lawn mower survived. Overall, about 90 percent of the league's property was lost, with a value of $15,000 to $20,000, he said.

The 37 teams in the league had just finished the season and turned in all their gear, which was housed in the locked shed.

"Everything we had was stored in this storage shed," Lanantia said. Some of the destroyed items are irreplaceable, such as pennants from past seasons.

The fire has created a large and urgent problem: Rancho Cordova Little League is putting on a tournament June 30 through July 14 involving hundreds of players and somehow needs to replace all the gear and equipment before then.

One of the most immediate needs is a 30-foot storage shed because the existing one is so filthy and badly damaged, said Kristy Elder, the league's player agent and tournament director.

"We really need people to support our kids," she said. "They're just devastated."

Lanantia said league leaders suspect the fire was deliberately set in at least one of the portable toilets, possibly by several teenagers seen by parents in the vicinity around 3:30 p.m. Friday.

Steve Cantelme, assistant chief of the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, said the fire is not being investigated as arson as of Saturday.

"It is under investigation as a suspicious fire," Cantelme said. But typically, he said, fires in portable toilets tend to be deliberately set, often by teens. Portables do not have their own power or ignition source, he noted.

"Lighting portable toilets on fire has been an age-old problem," he said. "I have never experienced one that wasn't arson."

Lanantia and Elder said the community has already begun to pitch in by cleaning and replacing items, but the league has a long way to go.

To make a donation or for more information, call Elder at (916) 821-4127 or go to www.rcll.org.