Talega Apartment Fire Displaces One Resident

An apartment fire this morning left a resident in Talega displaced.

A resident in the eight-plex in the 1100 block of Calle Del Cerro contacted firefighters at 7:24 a.m., according to Capt. Steve Concialdi of the Orange County Fire Authority. They arrived to find smoke billowing from the vents.

“We determined there was a fire between the first floor and second floor,” Concialdi said. There were no reported injuries.

It about 30 firefighters 30 minutes to knock down the flames, but when they were done, the lower level unit was uninhabitable, Concialdi said.

Luckily, another apartment in the same complex was made available to the resident, he said.

Officials estimate a “conservative” $50,000 in structural damage, Concialdi said. A malfunctioning forced air heater is the suspected cause.

“Smoke alarms alerted some of the occupants and this is a good reminder to make sure you have a working smoke alarm and check your batteries,” Concialdi. Residents of a house without working smoke detectors were not as fortunate.