Unattended Pot of Cooking Oil Starts Apartment Fire in Seal Beach

A cooking fire caused extensive damage to one unit of an apartment building at Seal Beach Leisure World today, displacing its resident but not causing any injuries.

A woman left cooking oil on the stove at her apartment in the 13800 block of Fresh Meadow Lane about 5:30 p.m. when she left to visit a neighbor’s home, said Capt. Steve Concialdi of the Orange County Fire Authority.

The oil caught fire, set the kitchen cabinets ablaze and the fire extended into the rest of the unit, which is part of an eight-unit complex in the retirement community, Concialdi said.

A neighbor heard a smoke alarm and called 911, Concialdi said.

Black smoke was billowing from the apartment’s front door and windows when the first of around 35 firefighters who responded arrived, Concialdi said.

They extinguished the fire in about 20 minutes, he said.

The unit sustained an estimated $80,000 in damage to the structure and $40,000 to its contents, Concialdi said.

One other unit in the building sustained minor damage, he said.

--City News Service

PHOTO Patch file photo.