TUSTIN : Fire Guts Home; One Man Hurt

A two-alarm fire Thursday caused $180,000 in damage to a three-bedroom home, and one county firefighter suffered a broken ankle battling it.

Neighbors said they spotted flames rising from a home in the 2300 block of Sable Tree Circle about 12:40 p.m. and that they began dousing it and neighboring structures with garden hoses as they waited for firefighters.

Six engine companies with 32 firefighters responded, and they brought the fire under control in less than 30 minutes, Orange County Fire Department spokeswoman Maria Sabol said. The house was gutted, however.

Fire Capt. Rick Reeder broke his left ankle as he emerged from the burning house. He was treated at a hospital and released.

A neighbor, Dennis Avery, said he saw the fire break out and told his wife to call the Fire Department.

“I ran over there, and I and some other folks started grabbing hoses to wet down the buildings and coax a cat down from the roof,” he said. “The flames were shooting way up the sky. I couldn’t believe how hot it was.”

Another neighbor, Pam Martinez, said she was returning home from a grocery store when she saw that police were blocking traffic and that smoke was billowing above the street. “The wind was blowing the smoke right in the direction of my house, so when I turned the corner I thought it might have been mine. I was so scared,” she said.

Investigators were attempting to determine the cause of the fire Thursday. Neighbors said the home was rented by two men, neither of whom was home at the time or could be reached for comment.

Sabol said firefighters faced the danger that the blaze would spread to other homes on the cul-de-sac. One home to the west suffered about $1,500 in fire damage to its roof, she said.