Local News in Brief : Anaheim : Three Left Homeless by Apartment Fire

Like good neighbors to the rescue, Anaheim firefighters raced across the street Thursday morning to put out an apartment fire.

The blaze at the Tara Hills Apartments in the 2100 block of West Crescent Drive was quickly brought under control, and two residents of one apartment were evacuated without injury. The resident of the other affected apartment was not home.

Despite the quick fire dousing, the fire caused an estimated $80,000 in damage and made the two apartments unlivable. Three people left homeless were given temporary assistance by the Orange County chapter of the American Red Cross.

The fire started about 7:45 a.m. in a lower apartment.

“It was caused by a malfunctioning electrical appliance in the living room,” Anaheim city spokeswoman Barbara Burke said.

No one was in the apartment, she said, but two residents of the upstairs apartment were evacuated.

“The fire came at a bad time because two trucks at Fire Station 2 (at 2141 W. Crescent Drive) were out on medical aid calls at the time,” Burke said. But she said a reserve truck at the firehouse was put into service and rushed to the scene.

Burke said there was a spirit of neighborliness from the very beginning. “The fire station learned about the blaze because a neighbor came to the station and knocked on the door. Capt. Steve Pillar heard the knock and learned about the fire even before it came over our dispatch system.”

Firefighters “had the fire under control in 23 minutes, and two other apartments in the building only suffered slight smoke damage,” Burke said. “All in all, it was a good save.”