COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- Inexpensive and friendly to immigrants, the apartment complex on the city's west side where 10 people died in a fire has long been a magnet to people from Latin American countries.
``They come, stay, and then more people came because they thought this was the only apartment complex (where) they could rent an apartment,'' Josue Vincente, program coordinator for the Ohio Hispanic coalition, said Monday.
The complex hired translators and didn't demand social security numbers and other optional forms of identification asked for by other landlords, Vincente said. Columbus is attractive because of its economy and relative safety compared with cities such as Chicago and Los Angeles, he said.
State and federal officials hope to learn the cause of the fire this week, and said they aren't ruling anything out. The fire started about 2:30 a.m. Sunday either in the basement or on the first floor. There are no suspects and no known witnesses.
Gerald Robinson, chief deputy state fire marshal, said Monday that the fire was suspicious because of its magnitude, the number of deaths and previous fires in the same building. On July 11, Prairie Township firefighters investigated three fires there, one in a stairwell and two in an abandoned apartment, fire Chief Steve Feustel said.
Ismael Noriega, 36, his wife, Lidia Mejia, 22, and their three young sons died in the third-story apartment they shared with Mejia's two brothers, her nephew and two family friends, according to Antonio Noriega, Ismael's brother.
Another of Ismael Noriega's brothers lives in Columbus, as do two other sisters, said a nephew, Martin Noriega, 21.
All 10 died of burns and smoke inhalation, but their injuries were too severe for family to identify them and DNA testing might be needed, the Franklin County coroner's office said Monday.
Mitra Singh, who lives across the courtyard, said she was awakened about 2 a.m. Sunday by the sound of people talking and car doors opening and shutting. About a half hour later, she heard a loud whooshing sound, which she said reminded her of using gasoline to burn grass when she lived in New Mexico.
``I saw a huge fireball just fly out the front,'' she said. ``It wasn't an explosion. It was just a long loud whoosh, like the traveling of fire.''
The Franklin County sheriff's office released a tape Monday of 15 calls made to 911 operators within 25 minutes, most from neighbors and freeway drivers on cell phones.
In the first, recorded at 2:46 a.m. Sunday, a woman is heard screaming ``Fire!'' several times between coughs and sobbing sounds.
Relatives of victims and some of the more than 50 left homeless spent Monday looking through boxes of canned goods, cereal, fruit and other food donated by several organizations. Used clothes were piled on a table set up by the American Red Cross.
Candles and flowers were placed on a rock about 50 feet from the burned building. One man stopped briefly in front of the memorial, closed his eyes, then crossed himself before walking on.
By late afternoon, children were riding their bikes back and forth on the lawn just a few feet from the burned out building. Police tape surrounded the apartment unit but neighbors came and went normally.
The Noriegas and Mejias enjoyed living in Columbus, but hoped to return one day to their hometown of Leon in the state of Guanajuato in central Mexico, relatives said.
Ismael Noriega and four of the other male victims worked for Peabody Landscape Group, president and owner David Peabody said.
``I never saw Ismael without a smile on his face,'' Peabody said. ``On numerous occasions, he brought his kids in. He was a very proud father.''
As part of a crew that can grow to 130 workers in the peak season, the five contributed ideas on planting techniques and did detailed construction for planters and retaining walls, Peabody said.
``They were a joy to work with,'' Peabody said. ``They did their job very seriously and made sure they did a good job.''
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