Lawsuit filed in debris-pile fire

Dentist sues Fresno's Archie Crippen Excavation, alleging negligence.

By Jennifer M. Fitzenberger and Mark Grossi
The Fresno Bee

(Updated Wednesday, February 5, 2003, 8:44 AM)

A dentist Tuesday filed the first lawsuit against Archie Crippen Excavation, the site of a 3-week-old junk fire spewing acrid smoke into the skies of southwest Fresno.

Raymond E. Baker, who lives less than a half-mile from the pile on Nielsen Avenue west of Marks Avenue, is seeking unspecified damages for health problems he attributes to inhaling the smoke. He also wants to prevent such a fire from happening again.

Baker filed the lawsuit in Fresno County Superior Court on behalf of the community and its members, many of whom have flocked to doctors in recent weeks with burning lungs and watering eyes.

"He felt it was of significant public concern, and he decided to take this step," said Stephen Garcia, Baker's attorney from San Pedro. "We're here to raise public awareness and consciousness."

Crippen declined interviews, but his son, Lee Crippen, defended his father after the lawsuit was announced: "Dad has been a real respectable businessman here in Fresno for 35 years and never had a problem."

The lawsuit alleges that Crippen was negligent for storing contaminants in a way that injured the public and damaged the environment. The fire started by spontaneous combustion.

The 25-foot-tall, 4.8-acre pile contains wood, asphalt, concrete, metal, plastic, carpet, automobile parts, mattresses and other debris. Crippen didn't have a permit to store all of those materials, Garcia said.

"Mr. Crippen allowed this pile to pile up," Garcia said.

Smoke billowing from the pile contains at least 17 pollutants, including benzene and chloromethane, that pose a "continuing health risk for nearby residents," the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit alleges that Crippen ignored previous complaints from neighboring businesses and residents. Crippen "acted with full knowledge of the consequences and damages that would forseeably result from [his] actions," and his conduct is "willful, oppressive and malicious," the lawsuit states.

From Baker's home, the fire at night "has appeared as an active volcano with smoke and fire spewing into the atmosphere," the lawsuit states.

Baker has suffered lung problems, coughing, a dry throat and loss of his voice. Symptoms were so bad that, on occasion, he could not work, said Stuart Chandler, a Fresno attorney working for Baker.

"There have been days when it's been absolutely intolerable," Chandler said.

The fire, which started Jan. 11, sent a brief shower of particulates Tuesday toward McKinley School, where air officials have a monitor that showed particle levels doubled between 8 and 9 a.m.

The level dropped by more than half after 9 a.m.

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District reported particle levels were generally higher Tuesday than they were Monday.

Federal officials at the Crippen site said the spike probably was caused by a shift in the wind.

"But you see the spike dissipate over time," Lisa Fasano, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency spokeswoman. "It's not a serious concern."

Firefighters made good progress Tuesday because of clear skies and dry weather, Fasano said. Predicting when the fire will be out is still difficult.

"We're shooting at having it out in a week," she said. "But we're chasing a fire that we can't see because it is buried in these large piles."

The reporters can be reached at jfitzenberger@fresnobee.com and mgrossi@fresnobee.com or 441-6330.