One Injured in Apartment Fire, 9 Displaced

By City News Service

A two-alarm fire Friday in an apartment building in Huntington Beach injured one person and displaced nine others.

The fire was reported at 1:57 p.m. in the 7800 block of Talbert Avenue, said Huntington Beach Fire Department Deputy Fire Marshal Bob Culhane.

As firefighters raced to the scene, a caller reported hearing someone
yelling for help from the area of the fire, he said.

Upon arrival, they found an approximately 1,000-square-foot apartment
engulfed in flames on the building's first and second floors, he said.

The fire spread into the attic over three adjacent apartments, prompting
a second alarm and a response by firefighters from Fountain Valley, Costa
Mesa and the Orange County Fire Authority, Culhane said.

With 51 firefighters on scene, the blaze was brought under control at
2:58 p.m., he said.

The injured occupant from the most damaged apartment was taken to UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries,
Culhane said.

Eight other adults and one child were displaced as a result of damage to
the common attic above four apartment units, he said.

Drywall also had to be removed to fight the spreading fire, Culhane said.

"The cause of the fire and its rapid spread is still under investigation,'' he said.

An estimated monetary loss was not disclosed.

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