Local News in Brief : Tustin : Cigarette Starts Fire; Family Left Homeless
A cigarette smoldering in a bedroom wastebasket sparked an apartment fire early Monday that left a Tustin family homeless and caused about $80,000 in damage.
Robert and Lisa Brasfield and their child, Brasen, 3, were evacuated without injury, but police and fire officials said that the apartment was gutted and that its contents were destroyed.
Fire Department spokeswoman Patti Range said other units in the four-apartment building in the 15400 block of Pasadena Avenue sustained minor smoke damage.
The fire, which was reported at 1:30 a.m., was caused by a smoldering cigarette that had been dropped into a wicker basket alongside the couple’s bed, Range said.
The couple told officials that they had gone to sleep at 9:30 p.m. Sunday.
It took 30 firefighters about 12 minutes to control the blaze, Range said.
A Red Cross spokeswoman said the Brasfield family was given temporary housing by the relief agency.
Officials estimated damages of $60,000 for the apartment and $20,000 for the couple’s belongings.
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