1 occupant burned, several pets killed in Costa Mesa house fire

Costa Mesa fire officials are investigating a house fire that broke out early Friday at the intersection of Del Mar and Elden avenues, killing several pets on the property and causing one occupant to be transported to a burn center.

Battalion Chief Chris Coates, who responded to the blaze, said a call came in at 3:11 a.m. regarding a structure fire on the 100 block of Del Mar Avenue. The department’s communication dispatcher mentioned reports of at least one explosion heard at the location.

“Units arrived on scene in less than five minutes and reported a well-established fire in the garage that had extended into the living quarters,” Coates said Monday. “Firefighters aggressively attacked the fire, preventing it from extending to adjacent homes and buildings.”

Costa Mesa and Newport Beach fire departments respond to an early morning house fire near the intersection of Elden and Del Mar avenues in Costa Mesa on Friday morning.

(Courtesy of Costa Mesa Fire and Rescue)

Two adults and one child were reportedly inside the home when the fire began. They told responders they were alerted by someone who’d been riding a bicycle past the structure and stopped to alert them to safety, according to Coates.

One occupant was transported to nearby Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, where they were reportedly treated for non-life-threatening burns sustained during the incident.

Remnants from a house fire that broke out Friday at Elden and Del Mar avenues in Costa Mesa.

(Courtesy of Costa Mesa Fire and Rescue)

Costa Mesa resident Robert Briggs said he and his wife were sleeping when they were awoken by the sound of loud explosions outside their condo unit followed by a series of popping noises.

“There were probably about six to eight consecutive large bangs like fireworks, which are quite common in Costa Mesa but not at 3 a.m.,” Briggs recalled Monday. “We were startled — I ran out there because I wanted to see what was happening.”

Other neighbors were also called out onto the street by the noise, and many filmed the commotion from their cellphones as first responders arrived on scene within a matter of minutes, Briggs said.

Although the human occupants were able to flee the property, Coates said Monday several pets at the location did not survive. Multiple puppies, along with an adult dog and cat, were killed, although other pets had managed to escape the fire.

With assistance from Newport Beach Fire Department, crews extinguished the blaze in about 45 minutes but remained on scene much longer to completely overhaul the area and ensure no embers remained in the structure, which Coates said had a lot of contents inside.

Briggs said the Del Mar Avenue residence and its occupants — who’d previously lived in condominiums on Elden Avenue before moving into the home — were known by neighbors for loud noise and disturbances that sometimes drew the attention of law enforcement. In addition to keeping multiple vehicles on the property, the homeowners had large dogs outside who barked at passersby.

“It’s always been ‘that house,’” he said. “It wasn’t a house that was really talked about, but everybody knew about it.”

A building inspector with the city visited the site and red-tagged the property, which was no longer habitable. Representatives from Red Cross were called to the scene to offer temporary shelter and assistance, according to Coates.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

A fire that broke out early Friday morning in the garage of a home in Costa Mesa quickly spread to the living quarters, officials reported.

(Courtesy of Costa Mesa Fire and Rescue)

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