4 Families Routed From Homes as Fire Races Though Units

Fire ripped through a Tustin duplex Tuesday, destroying both units and damaging two others as flames hopped quickly over the wood-shake roofs and sent four families fleeing from their homes.

One firefighter was hospitalized for second-degree burns he suffered while searching one of the Pasadena Avenue units for a resident who was believed to be trapped inside. Mike Overton, a 20-year veteran firefighter with the Orange County Fire Authority, was hit by chunks of falling plaster from the ceiling, and hot embers fell onto the collar of his coat, officials said. The resident was not inside.

Overton, 45, was treated at a hospital and released.

“It was a big, old bonfire when we arrived,” Fire Capt. Steve King said. “The heat was intense, and those flames latched on to that roof and just took off.”

The cause of the blaze was unknown late Tuesday, but investigators suspect it might have been a faulty electrical system.

Saroj Wadehra said she heard crackling sounds coming from the ceiling and walls as she returned from taking the trash out about 4:45 p.m. A few moments later she started to smell smoke, and neighbor Ann Ta came to the door, yelling for everyone to get out, Wadehra said.

“I told my daughter to get out of the shower, and she grabbed the baby and we left,” said Wadehra, 45, who has rented the unit for 10 years. “When we came out there were flames all over the roof. It happened so quickly, I couldn’t believe it.”

Ta, 23, said the smell of smoke jarred her from an afternoon nap and she glanced out the window to see flames shooting from the eaves next door.

“I grabbed the phone and talked to the 911 operator the whole time I pounded on everybody’s doors,” Ta said. “It was moving so fast. One minute it didn’t look so bad and the next it was everywhere.”

Seventy-five firefighters were called to the fire, which took 49 minutes to contain, Shell said. Damage to the 30-year-old units is estimated at $161,000.