2 Men Sound Alarm, Contain Apartment Fire

A candle left burning overnight ignited a fire inside an elderly woman’s apartment early Saturday, prompting two men nearby to evacuate the building and contain the flames before firefighters arrived, officials said.

“We credit these two men for keeping the flames from spreading,” La Habra Fire Capt. Gary Sens said.

David Ramirez, of Santa Fe Springs, and Art Romo, a resident of the apartment complex, yelled warnings and fought flames coming from an 80-year-old woman’s apartment, Sens said. The woman, Eunice Manning, suffered minor facial burns and smoke inhalation.

About 1:10 a.m. Saturday, authorities responded to a fire in the Villa Capri Apartments on West La Habra Boulevard. About 40 firefighters arrived and found the two men battling the flames with portable extinguishers. The men had already evacuated residents from the 18-unit section of the complex, Sens said.

Manning told authorities she had gone to bed thinking that a burning candle in the living room had burned out, Sens said. However, she later was awakened by flames flickering in the living room.

As Manning was attempting to escape, Ramirez and a friend passed by and saw the glow inside her home.

Ramirez dashed to the burning unit and started alerting other residents about the fire by running up and down the hallway, knocking on doors and yelling “Fire,” Sens said.

Ramirez then sprayed the flames with a portable extinguisher and Romo jumped in to help.

“They tried to put the fire out, but it was too big,” Sens said. “But they did contain it and kept the size down.”

Firefighters were able to put out the flames in 10 minutes, Sens said.

Manning, who lives alone, was treated at Friendly Hills Regional Medical Center in La Habra and was listed in good condition. No one else was injured, Sens said.

The fire apparently was started by the open candle set in a flower pot filled with soil. When the candle’s flame burned down into the potting soil, it smoldered the dirt and particles, which fueled it into a blaze, Sens said.

Fire damage was confined to Manning’s apartment, but nearby units sustained smoke and water damage. The American Red Cross assisted nine residents who were displaced by the fire, officials said.