Brea Family, but Not Pet, Survive Blaze

A Brea family was able to escape unharmed early Thursday morning when a blaze consumed part of their home, but a family dog, spending the night in the garage so she could give birth, was killed in the fire.

Fire authorities blamed the fire on an apparent electrical short that ignited their garage, spreading flames to the house.

Nancy Bamber, 37, said she and her husband, Kenneth, 40, and their 11- and 14-year-old sons escaped their burning house with only the clothes they were wearing. She said their pet Rottweiler, Magona, was giving birth to a litter at the time of the fire.

“The garage was a total loss, and the house was badly damaged,” said Dana Kemper, a captain with the Brea Fire Department. Firefighters wanted to save the dogs, “but there was no rescue possible.”

The fire broke out about 3 a.m. on the 200 block of West Elm Street. Kemper estimated damage at $75,000.

The Orange County chapter of the Red Cross provided food, clothes and a hotel room for the family.

Thursday afternoon, Kenneth Bamber, a mechanic, negotiated with insurance adjusters as his wife spent the day caring for her children and two other family dogs that survived. She said she and her husband have owned the home, their first, for 10 years. She said most of the family’s clothing and possessions were burned.

“My family made it,” she said. “Nothing else did.”