3 Treated After Fire Damages Hall
The show didn’t go on Saturday night at the Coach House concert hall after a midday fire destroyed a room, triggered sprinklers and left the venue humid and smoky for hours.
Two Coach House employees and a tour manager for a visiting band were treated for smoke inhalation and minor burns, said Battalion Chief Mike McCoy of the Orange County Fire Authority. Damage to the San Juan Capistrano landmark was estimated at more than $80,000, mostly to a storage room, he said.
The fire was caused by a faulty toaster oven in the storage room behind the box office, McCoy said. It was reported about 1:25 p.m. and was put out in about 30 minutes.
Damage to the concert hall was minimal. The carpet was soaked from sprinklers, but there was “no appreciable damage,” McCoy said.
The burned-out room was covered with a messy mixture of water and soot.
A band was to play, but McCoy said it wasn’t safe to turn on the electricity. Coach House owner Gary Folgner said canceling the Saturday night performance by Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise would cost the club about $15,000.
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