Advertisement

Wall Fire Damages Apartments

Share
TIMES STAFF WRITER

A plumber’s welding torch is believed to have started a smoldering fire within the walls of a Costa Mesa apartment complex Friday morning that took several hours to contain, authorities said.

Costa Mesa fire battalion chief Jim Ellis said the fire at the Vista Del Lago apartments on East Mesa Verde Drive started in a wall that separates two first-floor apartment kitchens, then spread to the second floor. A welder had been working on pipes under the sink in one of the units.

Four apartments were damaged, Ellis said, but nobody was injured. The displaced residents, none of whom was home, are being housed in vacant apartments at Vista Del Lago.

Advertisement

It took 3 1/2 hours to contain the blaze, which was reported at 11:30 a.m.

The fire was detected by a maintenance worker who smelled smoke. Firefighters saw smoke coming from the electrical outlets on the walls, Ellis said.

Because a fire of that type does not include visible flames, it can be very difficult and frustrating to fight, Ellis said.

“It’s a very labor-intensive process. We took out the kitchen cupboards and dishwashers,” Ellis said. “There’s never a blaze you can see, just heavy smoke. As the fire burns up the interior of the wall and runs into a block . . . it just kind of jumps back and forth, and we have to chase it.”

Advertisement