Apartment Garage Catches Fire Wednesday Night

A fire that began Wednesday night in the garage of a south San Clemente apartment complex was quickly extinguished by firefighters, authorities said.

Orange County Fire Authority units were dispatched to the structure fire at 2917 S. El Camino at 7:37 p.m. and had it under control within 15 minutes, said Capt. Marc Stone.

There were no reported injuries. By 9:30 p.m., firefighters from Batallion 6 were shoveling charred materials out of the garages in back of the building.

Stone said about 20 firefighters responded to the scene. The building is salvageable; the garage is badly damaged and there is smoke and heat damage in the two apartments that comprise the building, but that damage likely can be fixed with renovations, Stone said.

Investigators were still at the scene as of 10:30 p.m., so no damage cost estimate or cause of the fire was immediately available Wednesday.