20 Displaced After Blaze At North OC Apartment Building

SEAL BEACH, CA —Firefighters did battle against a stubborn blaze at a Seal Beach apartment complex Sunday, where an apartment dweller lived in "hoarding conditions," authorities say. Two people were injured during the fire, one from smoke inhalation and another from burns. As many as 20 people were forced from their homes due to fire and smoke damage.

On Sunday night, a fire ignited in the garden-style apartment complex due to a candle left burning in a bedroom, according to investigators.

The fire was reported just before 1 a.m. in the 1200 block of Montecito Road, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Stephen Horner said.

Firefighters from the OCFA and the Huntington Beach and Long Beach fire departments were sent to the scene and extinguished the flames at 1:30 a.m., Horner said.

The cause of the fire was listed as "accidental," according to an OCFA spokesperson.
Five of the 16 units in the complex were damaged, Horner said. The apartment where the fire started and the unit below both sustained "significant" damage, he said. Three other apartments in that building sustained minor damage.

All of the units were uninhabitable because the power was out, and more than 20 adults and at least 13 children were displaced, Horner said.

The Orange County Red Cross is assisting all who are unable to return to their homes.

Two people suffered minor burns when they tried to put out the fire. They were taken to a hospital for treatment.

"Hoarding conditions in the involved unit made access difficult," Horner said. "This just adds fuel to the fire."