BREA : Firefighter Cuts Foot in Residential Blaze

A firefighter sustained minor injuries Wednesday when a piece of glass or ceramic material pierced his boot and cut his foot as he battled a fire that destroyed the roof of a historic home and a residential garage next door, fire officials said.

Capt. Paul Bartley was treated for his injury at St. Jude Medical Center and released back to duty, Fire Chief William R. Simpkins said. “He got three or four stitches and is doing fine, but the garage is completely destroyed and the historical house’s roof collapsed.”

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined but firefighters, who contained the flames within 20 minutes, are investigating, Simpkins said.

Owners of the garage, in the 200 block of Redwood Avenue, were asleep in the house when the fire occurred at 10:48 a.m. Neighbors awoke the two sleeping owners to alert them to the blaze, Simpkins said.

The historic home, known as the Practice House among Brea residents, was vacant and sitting on blocks. City officials said a developer is in the process of moving the 66-year-old home to another neighborhood, where it will be renovated and sold to low-income buyers as part of the city’s low-income housing program.

Developers estimated the damage to the home’s clay roof at $2,500.

The Practice House was originally part of Brea-Olinda High School. Students learned how to cook, sew and fix household appliances in the building, which was moved away from the high school grounds in 1989 when the school was demolished and rebuilt.