Fire Engineer Injured in Blaze
A Huntington Beach Fire Department engineer was critically injured early today when a brick wall of a burning downtown building collapsed on him. The victim, Tom Townsend, 46, of San Clemente, suffered head, wrist and shoulder injuries and was taken to Fountain Valley Regional Hospital in critical condition, fire officials said.
The blaze, of undetermined origin, broke out about 5:45 a.m. in a 50-year-old, two-story commercial and apartment building at the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street in Huntington Beach. The building was declared a total loss, but no dollar estimate was immediately available. Seven residents of the upstairs apartments escaped injury.
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