GENEROSITY IN TRAGEDY RECOGNIZED\Many offered aid after fatal fire.

Byline: Sara Catania Daily News Staff Writer

The arson fire that killed a Glendale woman and her six children showed humanity at its worst. Those who exemplify the best were honored at a dinner Monday night sponsored by Glendale's Presidents Advisory Council.

Among those recognized were the firefighters who made a heroic but futile attempt to save the family, Red Cross volunteers who assisted displaced residents from the Harvard Terrace Apartments and an immigrant relief agency and local restaurant owner who paid most of the $20,000 in funeral expenses.

"There were so many people who came forward to help that we wanted to recognize them in some way," said John Krikorian, head of the council, which is made up of leaders of Glendale's social service and community organizations. "When something like this happens, it's important for everyone to pull together and show our appreciation."

Turan Avanesian, 37, her three daughters, Roobina, 17, Rita, 16, and Ronika, 9, and her three sons, Rodric, 8, Romik, 6, and Roland, 4, were killed Feb. 6 in an intentionally set fire that gutted their one-bedroom apartment - the worst multiple homicide in Glendale's history.

Police believe the husband and father Jorjik "George" Avanesian, 40, doused the living room and family room of the apartment with gasoline and set it ablaze. Avanesian has pleaded not guilty to arson and murder charges.

From the moment firefighters arrived at the awful scene until the Avanesians were buried at a packed ceremony at Forest Lawn Cemetery on Friday, community support has been "tremendous," Krikorian said.

Red Cross volunteers provided food and shelter for dozens of residents of the burned apartment complex, and the Armenian Relief Society coordinated funeral arrangements. James Lucero, owner of the Smoke House restaurant in Burbank, donated $12,000 to the cost of the funeral. Hundreds of residents and businesses from across Glendale also made donations.

Capt. Dean Carriger, a 17-year veteran of Glendale's fire department, only wished he could have done more.

"Technically we did everything we could have done," Carriger said. "But you can't help but wish you were there right when the fire was set, to get those kids out, to keep everyone safe. You can't help but feel that way, because that's why most of us got into this kind of work in the first place."