Police Officer Spots Fire, Alerts Residents

A keen-eyed patrol officer who spotted smoke pouring from the shake roof of a house late Monday managed to wake a woman and her 5-year-old son and guide them to safety before firefighters arrived to extinguish the blaze, officials said.

Officer Antonius Spangler was patrolling the area near the 9200 block of Wintergreen Circle when he spotted the smoke just before midnight, Police Sgt. Dann Bean said.

Spangler’s loud banging on the door woke the woman and several neighbors, who on Tuesday applauded his quick actions.

“My husband heard the policeman pounding on the door,” said one neighbor who lives across the street from the burned house.

It took 24 firefighters from Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley about 20 minutes to control the fire, said Fire Capt. Craig Laser. The two-alarm blaze caused $75,000 in damage.

Laser said the fire was caused either by the wiring to the bathroom exhaust fan or by an electrical short circuit in the fan itself.

Spangler was later joined by Officer Ken Hounsley. Neighbors said the pair alerted others on the cul-de-sac to evacuate. Laser called the officers’ actions crucial.

“The way the fire would have progressed, it would have just continued to burn the top off and the roof would have dropped in,” he said.