Collapse at House Fire Traps Three : Rescue: Firefighters receive minor injuries in one of Huntington’s bigger blazes, official says.

Three firefighters were trapped under collapsing ceiling beams and several had to be rescued from a burning Huntington Beach house in an early morning blaze Monday that sent flames leaping 25 feet into the air, officials said.

About 30 firefighters from Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Costa Mesa responded to the 12:30 a.m. fire in the 20100 block of Princeton Circle after a family renting the house heard flames crackling on the second story, dialed 911 and escaped.

As flames ate through the ceiling, the incident commander’s order to evacuate came over the firefighters’ hand-held radios, and fire engine air horns blared the signal for firefighters to get out.

But before they could make it, the ceiling started collapsing, sending beams and rafters down on three of the men, Huntington Beach firefighter Darren Marrish said.

“The whole south side of the roof was fully involved with flames shooting high in the air,” said Marrish, 22, who was trapped for a short time at the top of the stairwell by fallen ceiling beams. “By the time we made entry, three-quarters of the roof was involved.”

Fountain Valley firefighters Joe Cucinotti and Tom Reardon were pulled from the rubble in the home’s foyer, where the vaulted ceiling had pinned them. They were taken to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach and treated for multiple bruises and sprains, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Two other Huntington Beach firefighters were trapped in an upstairs room when the building started to come down, and had to yell to an engine on Brookhurst Street for a ladder to evacuate them, Marrish said.

Firefighter Dan Forster was upstairs with the pair who later became trapped when his air bottle ran out. He left the house to refill it just seconds before the collapse, he said.

For Marrish, who joined the department three months ago, the Monday morning fire was his first big blaze. His father is a 25-year veteran of the Huntington Beach Fire Department, he said.

“It seemed like eternity for a while, but it probably was only a few seconds,” Marrish said of his moments pinned under the beams.

“You kind of curl up in a little ball thinking there’s more that’s going to be coming on top of you. After I realized that was it, it was just a kicking frenzy to get uncovered and let them know that there was someone in there.”

Marrish had a strained neck but was otherwise unhurt, Battalion Chief Steve Parker said. Marrish’s father was working out of a different station and slept peacefully through his son’s first harrowing encounter, Marrish said.

Parker said the blaze was one of Huntington Beach’s bigger fires and could easily have left firefighters dead or with serious injuries.

“It’s a very fortunate event,” he said. “They were able to determine that we needed to back everyone out.”

The blaze, which took more than an hour to control, caused $200,000 in damage to the rented home and $60,000 to its contents, Parker said.

Three people living in the house managed to get out unharmed, and firefighters were able to free the family’s German shepherd from the home’s kitchen. Neighbors gathered outside snapping pictures of the flames, which leaped 25 feet into the night sky, Parker said.

The experience scared Marrish “to death” but it didn’t dampen his enthusiasm for his new job.

“This is definitely my dream occupation,” he said. “I can’t see myself doing anything else. You go home accomplishing something new each day. You can say, ‘I saved a woman’s life today,’ or ‘I saved somebody’s property.’ ”

The fire came on the heels of another major Huntington Beach blaze, which broke out Sunday in storage units in the 7600 block of Talbert Avenue.

More than 50 firefighters from Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach responded to the 4:22 p.m. fire, which damaged 10 large storage units and 20 small ones.

Firefighters had to pry the locks off the storage unit doors and cut through the metal on others, officials said. Firefighter Forster, who also battled that blaze, said firefighters sawed a trench in the roof to prevent the flames from spreading.

The fire likely started in one unit and spread to others through the common attic. The concentration of stored material in the rooms and attic contributed to the spread of the fire, fire officials said.

The blaze was under control about 6 p.m. Battalion Chief Parker estimated the damage to the structure at about $100,000, but damage to the contents will likely take days to determine, he said.

One firefighter was injured with a mild case of smoke inhalation when he was exposed to hot gasses and smoke. The firefighter’s air bottle ran out while he was ventilating the roof, fire officials said.