Costa Mesa apartment fire displaces several tenants and kills cat
A kitchen fire in a Costa Mesa apartment complex displaced several residents and left a pet cat dead, authorities said Wednesday.
Firefighters responded to South Pointe apartments, 655 Baker St., at 7 p.m. Tuesday, said Capt. Chris Coates of the Costa Mesa Fire Department.
The complex had been evacuated, and firefighters were able to contain the flames to the unit in which the fire originated within 30 minutes, Coates said.
That apartment was destroyed. Six other units sustained smoke and water damage.
Investigators determined that the fire started when residents who had been cooking left to check on their laundry, Coates said.
When they returned, they found their apartment enveloped in black smoke.
The residents ran back into their apartment to save their three cats, but one had died.
The two residents were treated on scene for smoke inhalation, but declined a trip to the hospital, Coates said.
Nobody else was injured.
The Red Cross helped those displaced by the fire.
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