Fire Victim, Found With No Pulse, Revived : Rescue: Firefighters find a man in the closet of a smoke-filled Seal Beach apartment. He is hospitalized in serious but stable condition.

A man who had stopped breathing and had no pulse when firefighters pulled him from a smoke-filled apartment Sunday was revived by paramedics.

Bob Durgan, 45, was in serious but stable condition at Los Alamitos Medical Center late Sunday with second-degree burns over 10% of his body.

A firefighter found Durgan unconscious in a closet, curled into a fetal position with his arms over his head, Orange County Fire Capt. Dan Young said. Durgan had retreated into the closet to hide from the fire, which officials believe was accidentally ignited by a candle or unattended flame, Young said.

“When we got there, there was a gentleman yelling that he thought there was somebody inside. We ran upstairs and found a door closed with smoke coming from the bottom and sides. It was extremely hot,” said firefighter Lester Daywalt, who found Durgan in the closet after entering the apartment shortly after 8:30 a.m. “Even with my flashlight, I couldn’t see farther than two feet in front of me because the smoke was so dense.

“He was curled up in a corner and at first I didn’t realize it was a person because he was so covered with smoke,” Daywalt said.

“I thought he was dead. His eyes were wide open, his mouth was open. It looked like he took his last breath, like he was scared and shocked. I’ve been doing this for 21 years, but it still kind of set me back.”

Steve Franckevich, 40, who also was living in the two-bedroom apartment in the 200 block of 7th Street, was on the balcony when firefighters arrived. He was treated for smoke inhalation by paramedics and refused to be taken to a hospital for further treatment. Franckevich was being sheltered by the Orange County chapter of the Red Cross Sunday night, Young said.

Initially, a firefighter found that Durgan had no pulse. But paramedics hooked him up to an oxygen tank and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until they detected a faint heartbeat.

“He’s a miracle boy, I guess you can say,” Daywalt said.

The same fire crew had been out to the apartment only two weeks before to investigate a possible fire hazard. When they arrived, they found that the electricity had been turned off and the tenants--a transient group who at times numbered nearly a dozen--were facing eviction and using candles, Young said.

The building was slated for demolition by the owner but had not yet been condemned because the two men still occupied it, police said.

The apartment itself was not on fire when firefighters arrived, but much of its contents was burning, Young said. He estimated smoke damage to the home at $1,000 to $2,000.

The cause of the fire was listed as accidental, Young said.