Young mother is second fatality in Orange County fire

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Orange County Fire Authority public information officer Steve Concialdi walks through the charred condominium in San Juan Capistrano. A mother and her 3-year-old son have died as a result of the fire. (Christina House / For The Times)

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People react the day after a condo fire in San Juan Capistrano. (Christina House / For The Times)

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Fernando Portillo, who works across the street, and his son Sean, 5, look at a pile of burned items from the condo fire in San Juan Capistrano. (Christina House / For The Times)

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Some residents jumped from the second floor onto this toddler’s mattress on the ground to escape the fire in the condo in San Juan Capistrano. (Christina House / For The Times)

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A child’s doll lies in a pile of scorched debris as firefighters clean up after the condominium fire. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Orange County Fire Authority crews clean up after a condo fire in San Juan Capistrano left a 3-year-old boy dead, injured eight others and left 80 residents homeless. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The fire started about 9:15 a.m. on the second floor of the building in the 26500 block of La Zanja Street in San Juan Capistrano. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Residents watch as crews clean up after the blaze. Fire officials said the building was equipped with smoke alarms, but the batteries may not have been working. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Residents and others watch firefighters mopping up after the blaze. When firefighters arrived they found residents sprawled on the lawn, some having jumped from windows to avoid the flames and smoke. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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A child looks throough a gate as firefighters mop up after the blaze. When firefighters arrived they found residents sprawled on the lawn, some having jumped from windows to avoid the flames and smoke. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

By Veronica Rocha

Jan. 22, 2015 4:26 AM PT

A young mother has become the second fatality in a fast-moving fire that consumed a condominium building in San Juan Capistrano, killing her son and injuring seven others.

Maricela Sanchez, who turned 20 last week, was pronounced dead at 8:40 p.m. Wednesday at UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, according to the Orange County coroner’s office.

Sanchez’s 3-year-old son, Jaiden Liborio, died Tuesday night, hours after flames and smoke destroyed the building on La Zanja Street, displacing 80 residents.

Jaiden, his mother and brother Iker were among 17 people living inside one unit of the building when flames broke out at about 9:15 a.m. Tuesday. Fire officials said the blaze was started by a child who was playing with a lighter.

The flames moved quickly, consuming mattresses that lined the floor of the four-bedroom unit, officials said. Its smoke detectors had been removed and those in neighboring units were not operating, they said.

Thick smoke from the blaze awoke residents, triggering a panic as some tenants jumped out of windows to escape the flames, firefighters said.

For breaking news in California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA

Young mother is second fatality in Orange County fire

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