SAN CLEMENTE : 1 Dies, 2 Others Hurt in Apartment Fire

A woman died in an apartment fire early Wednesday as she sought protection by turning on the shower and covering herself with a sheet, authorities said.

The blaze in a two-story apartment building on the 200 block of Avenida Aragon also sent two men to the hospital with minor burns.

Fire officials said the fire started about 4:30 a.m. in the bedroom of a unit. The cause was “discarded smoking material that ignited the bedding,” said Battalion Chief Bill Bundy. He said it appeared to be an accident.

The blaze destroyed a big section of the apartment and damaged at least one other unit, he said.

Authorities said two men who were in the same apartment as the victim were taken to Samaritan Medical Center-San Clemente, where one of them was treated for minor burns and injuries, as well as smoke inhalation. He was not identified.

The other man, Alan Ostedahl, 43, was transferred from Samaritan to Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, where he was treated for minor burns and released, hospital spokeswoman Wendy Harle said.

A third man living at the apartment managed to escape unscathed, authorities said.

A neighbor said the dead woman, whom authorities won’t identify until relatives are notified, was visiting the apartment and wasn’t a tenant.

Employees at the Fisherman’s Restaurant at the San Clemente Pier, where the woman had been working as a waitress for more than three months, were in shock.

“She was super-sweet, really nice,” said one employee. “She was half Cherokee . . . a Native American. She had long, dark hair and was always cheerful.”

The employees said police asked them not to identify their dead co-worker.

Robert Novello, district manager of the Fisherman’s restaurant chain, said the woman was “a good employee, always on time, a good person.”