LAGUNA NIGUEL : Man’s Quick Work Saves Neighbor Home

A fresh resident of Agate Canyon Drive, Gabor Zolna is just starting to form the daily routines that go with living in a new neighborhood.

As such, shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday, Zolna was returning home from his daily walk with Baron Von Hooter, a Boston terrier, when he spotted a thick, black cloud of smoke billowing from a neighbor’s garage.

By the time the fire engines arrived, Zolna had already extinguished the flames using a fire extinguisher and a garden hose. Orange County Fire Department officials are crediting him with saving the entire house.

“By acting so quickly, he was able to keep the flames in check and protect the rest of the property,” said Maria Sabol, a department spokeswoman. “I think Mr. Zolna is the kind of person you’d want to have around the neighborhood.”

However, Zolna doesn’t see his actions as any big deal.

“I was just there at the right place and time,” said Zolna, 50, who moved to Agate Canyon Drive from Mission Viejo last month.

Fire officials have ruled the fire accidental, saying it was probably caused by an iron. Homeowner Claudia Julian told firemen that she was pressing clothes in the garage and turned off the iron when she smelled an acrid odor wafting from the small appliance.

Soon, the woman noticed smoke coming from the door connecting the garage to the house. When she saw the flames, Julian pressed her garage door opener and shut the door leading to the house interior.

After Zolna spotted the smoke, he went home, grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran back to Julian’s house, about four doors away.

“The flames were burning a wall for about eight feet from floor to ceiling,” he said. “I hit it with the fire extinguisher until it ran out of chemicals, then I grabbed a hose and sprayed water until (the fire) went out.”

Zolna said he spent more time reacting than thinking. But he remembers being nervous about the possibility of the fire reaching the gas tank of a Ford Bronco parked in the garage. Also nearby was a two-gallon gas tank filled with fuel for a power lawn mower.

“I was concerned about the Bronco igniting,” he said. “Otherwise, it was all adrenaline.”

The damage to the house was estimated at $600 by fire officials.

“Obviously, it could have been a lot worse if Mr. Zolna hadn’t acted so quickly,” Sabol said.