SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CALIFORNIA –
An electrical malfunction inside an older-model Ford pick-up likely sparked a blaze that spread from a garage to the attic of a duplex early Wednesday morning , officials said.
Orange County Fire Authority officials responded around 5:40 a.m. to a fire at a single-story duplex in the 24600 block of Kimberly Lane.
When 30 firefighters arrived, large flames were seen rising from a garage where a 1995 Ford pick-up truck was parked, OCFA Capt. Steve Concialdi said.
The couple who lives in the home told officials they were both awake and getting ready for work when they heard noises coming from the garage. After they saw smoke, they fled the home and called 911.
Firefighters controlled the blaze within 30 minutes, but not before $200,000 worth of damage was caused to the house and $50,000 of contents were destroyed, Concialdi said.
“Firefighters saved most of the house, including the computers,” Concialdi said. “Because the family kept the door leading from the kitchen to the garage closed, that kept the majority of the fire and smoke inside the garage and saved the rest of the house.”
Officials said the fire caused the structure’s roof to sag and it became unsafe for firefighters to enter the garage.
“Because it’s unsafe to get in there, we’re going to grab the back the pickup truck out of the garage to make sure there is no hidden fire,” Concialdi said around 7:30 a.m.
Firefighters used a Skid Steer, a functional bulldozer, to move the Ford F-150.
A Ford Escape parked in the adjacent driveway was damaged by “radiant heat,” but the surrounding homes were spared, Concialdi said.
No one was injured in the blaze and firefighters rescued two cats who were hiding underneath a bed in a back bedroom during the fire.
The couple and their cats were displaced because of the blaze and local Red Cross officials responded to help them.