At 8 p.m. on October 10, 1984, firefighters and engine company 81 in Pasadena, California,

heard the alarm and jumped into action. They learned that there was a fire at Oli's Home Center,

and luckily it was only three blocks away, so they were there in a matter of minutes.

The fire captain was hopeful that the fire was minor, but once he got

closer to the building, he saw a bigger blaze than he was expecting, and it was a bluish green

color due to all of the melting foam inside the merchandise packaging. The team of firefighters

worked their way into the building to get the fire under control, but it had spread too quickly.

They were barely in the building when they realized the entire interior was engulfed in flames.

The ceiling tiles were flammable, and the firefighters couldn't get the water sprayed high enough

before it turned to steam from the intense heat. They tried to get a hose on the

fire from the opposite side, but the fire doors on the other end of the building had sealed,

and they weren't able to pry them open. They cut a hole in the roof to vent the heat, but it didn't

help. Everything they tried had failed, and it took hours to eventually get the fire under control.

They kept the fire from spreading while the roof collapsed and everything inside burned completely,

including the four people who never made it out.

As the captain watched the building burn, fire investigator John Orr appeared in the parking lot

snapping pictures of the scene.

A fire investigator doesn't usually come until after the fire is out, but when asked, he told

the captain he was already in the area, which was true.

There had been two other fires nearby, which was unusual for the area at the time.

There had been a smaller fire inside a grocery store about seven miles or 11 kilometers away

a few hours prior. After it was out, John had been called to investigate, and as he was leaving,

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