Two Dead, Seven Homeless After Fire at Anaheim Condo

Two people were killed and seven displaced early Wednesday in Anaheim by a four-alarm condominium fire traced to a smoldering cigarette.

A 70-year-old man who lived in the two-story home and a 38-year-old woman from Anaheim were found dead in an upstairs bedroom of smoke inhalation and burns, said Anaheim Fire Department spokeswoman Maria Sabol. Their identities were not released pending notification of relatives.

The fire broke out shortly before 3:30 a.m. at the Pepperwood Village condominiums in the 1400 block of Cerritos Avenue. Five units were ruined, and damages were estimated at $225,000.

Sabol said a cigarette left on a recliner sparked the fire in the downstairs living room, and it quickly spread upstairs.

“It is common for people to drop their cigarette between the couch and go to sleep,” Sabol said. “They may not be aware of it, and it could smolder. It is the No. 1 cause of fatal fires.”

Just as Pam Ranciglio closed her book and turned off her reading lights, she heard a string of popping sounds like fireworks. She looked out her window, then ran outside and knocked on doors to notify neighbors of the blaze. But “some people wouldn’t come out of their homes because they thought it was gunshots. I was really frustrated, because the fire was shooting out of the window,” Ranciglio said.

Officials later determined that the noises came from the discharge of ammunition stored inside the burning house that the man kept for hunting.

Neighbors said the man bought the three-bedroom condo about eight years ago and was a retired chef who liked good wine.

Ken Brant, 51, said he was talking and drinking wine with the man and the woman about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. The man, who didn’t smoke, had planned to make a prime-rib dinner for the three of them next weekend.

“They were drinking and in good spirits,” said Brant, a 22-year resident of Pepperwood Village. “I was hoping that they had gone somewhere. Unfortunately, they didn’t.”

Sixty-eight firefighters battled the blaze for nearly an hour. Fire Capt. Rene Garcia injured his knee. He was treated at Goldenwest Medical Center and released.