YOUNG MOTHER IS SECOND FATALITY IN ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA FIRE
January 22, 2015
A young mother has become
the second fatality in a fast-moving fire that consumed a condominium building
in San Juan Capistrano, killing her son and injuring seven others.
Maricela Sanchez, who
turned 20 last week, was pronounced dead at 8:40 p.m. Wednesday at UC Irvine
Medical Center in Orange, according to the Orange County coroner's office.
Sanchez's 3-year-old son,
Jaiden Liborio, died Tuesday night, hours after flames and smoke destroyed the
building on La Zanja Street, displacing 80 residents.
Jaiden, his mother and
brother Iker were among 17 people living inside one unit of the building when
flames broke out at about 9:15 a.m. Tuesday. Fire officials said the blaze was
started by a child who was playing with a lighter.
The flames moved quickly,
consuming mattresses that lined the floor of the four-bedroom unit, officials
said. Its smoke detectors had been removed and those in neighboring units were
not operating, they said.
Thick smoke from the
blaze awoke residents, triggering a panic as some tenants jumped out of windows
to escape the flames, firefighters said.
