SANTA ANA : 19 Are Evacuated After Triplex Fire

Three families were forced out of their triplex early Sunday by a trash fire that spread through a window into the attic, authorities said.

There were no injuries, but damage to the ceiling and a bathroom in the converted house in the 2200 block of West Fifth Street prompted Santa Ana fire officials to declare the building unsafe.

The nine adults and 10 children who lived in the three units were being housed at a Santa Ana motel, courtesy of the American Red Cross, Orange County chapter spokesman Doug Gavilanes said.

The fire was first reported at 1:14 a.m., Santa Ana fire dispatcher Jim Yoshida said. Flames were put out 16 minutes later and no one was injured. Yoshida said the fire was believed to have spread from an outdoor trash receptacle to a nearby window and then into the attic.

The origin of the blaze remained under investigation and no damage figure was immediately available Sunday.

Among the displaced were Juan Garcia, 32, a cook at UC Irvine. He said he and his wife and their six children were being put up at a Best Western hotel in Santa Ana, along with his brother and a brother-in-law who had been living with them. Also displaced were Candelario Sanchez, 37, and his family. Names of the others left homeless were not immediately available Sunday.

Gavilanes said the residents’ clothing and most of their personal possessions were left intact.

“Basically, what they lost was a bathroom and part of the ceiling,” he said. “Under normal circumstances, that kind of damage to a bathroom and ceiling wouldn’t be so bad, but because so many people were occupying the dwelling, the Fire Department declared it unsafe.”

Richard Gomez, who identified himself as the owner of the building, said he was rushing to find permanent housing for his tenants. He said that the blaze came just a month before he was scheduled to have it demolished.