Fire at Costa Mesa sober-living home displaces residents
A fire that investigators suspect began in the chimney of a Costa Mesa sober-living home displaced several residents Saturday night.
Costa Mesa firefighters received a report of a house fire at 11:30 p.m. in the 2200 block of Elden Avenue. Fire crews were on the scene within five minutes and saw smoke and flames coming from the top of the chimney, said fire Capt. Chris Coates.
The blaze extended into the walls and attic of the two-story house, so firefighters first attacked the flames from outside with water from two aerial ladders.
“It was too dangerous for us to be inside,” Coates said. “We were in a pretty good firefight for about three hours.”
Just before 3 a.m., firefighters were able to get inside the structure and extinguish the rest of the blaze, Coates said.
No one was injured, but the residents’ belongings were destroyed. Coates didn’t know how many residents were in the home.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation, Coates said.
He advised that residents use only one or two wood logs at a time in a fireplace and have their chimneys and fireplaces inspected annually by a licensed chimney sweep.
