H.B. resident uses 4 extinguishers to contain apartment fire
A man who awoke Friday morning to find ceiling-high flames in the living room of his one-bedroom apartment in Huntington Beach used four fire extinguishers to contain the blaze before firefighters arrived, the Fire Department said.
The blaze occurred just before 6 a.m. at the Breakwater Apartments in the 16000 block of Viewpoint Lane.
Despite the fire nearly blocking his exit, the resident was able to get an extinguisher from the hallway and use it on the flames, Fire Department spokesman Eric Blaska said.
The resident, who was not identified, then ran from his first-floor apartment to three nearby buildings to obtain additional extinguishers to contain the fire before responders arrived, Blaska said.
No damage was reported to other apartments, which Blaska credited to the resident’s efforts.
“He did his due diligence,” said Blaska, who added that the fire could have caused much more damage.
Residents of two upper units were evacuated as a precaution, but no injuries were reported.
Firefighters put out the flames at about 6:15 a.m.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. It is unclear whether smoke alarms sounded, the Fire Department said.
