SANTA ANA : 4 Children Saved From House Fire

Four young children escaped unharmed Thursday morning when an adult noticed smoke coming from a bedroom closet, authorities said.

Tam Nguyen, 30, was able to rescue his three children and their cousin--all under the age of 4--and call firefighters to put out the blaze in the 1100 block of North Berni St., just before 10 a.m.

Eighteen firefighters from Santa Ana and Garden Grove brought the blaze under control within five minutes, said Santa Ana Fire Department spokesman David Wadsworth.

Most of the single-story dwelling was destroyed, and the eaves of an adjoining house were also damaged, Wadsworth said, adding that preliminary investigation indicates the children might have been playing with matches.

The fire was eerily similar to one in Oceanside on Monday morning that killed four young children and their sleeping uncle. Investigators said that fatal fire, which was reported just after 8 a.m., was also caused by the children playing with matches in a closet.

All four San Diego County victims died of smoke inhalation, officials said. The children’s parents, a Marine and his wife, were at work at the time of the fire. Smoke detectors in the apartment were melted so badly it was not possible to tell if they had sounded, fire officials said.

Wadsworth described the two fires as very similar and attributed the lack of injury in Santa Ana to Nguyen’s being awake.

“Time of day in these things is essential, that’s the difference,” he said, adding that Nguyen had been asleep but woke up to go to the bathroom.

“He came out of the bathroom and saw smoke,” Wadsworth said, giving him time to rescue the children and call 911.

There were no smoke detectors in the house, fire officials said.

The children’s grandfather, 58-year-old Thanh Van Nguyen, who rents the house, was at a dentist’s appointment at the time of the fire, Wadsworth said.

Fire officials estimated the damage to the house and contents at $75,000.