Fire forces families from homes

Stefanie Frith

COSTA MESA -- A fire caused by an accidental heater malfunction

Thursday forced 25 people from their homes in an apartment complex on

Mission Drive, fire officials said.

The blaze started at about 5:15 p.m., said Barbara Marcosa,

spokeswoman for the Costa Mesa Fire Department.

Six engines and about 26 firefighters were called to the complex, at

1012 Mission Drive. Firefighters extinguished the blaze within 20

minutes, Marcosa said.

No one was injured, and the families living in the four apartments

will stay with the American Red Cross until further arrangements can be

made, she said.

Nahan Nguyen, 16, who lives in one of the apartments, said she was

watching television with her brother and father while her mother made

dinner when the family noticed the lights in the kitchen flickering.

“We didn’t know what was going on,” she said, fighting back tears and

clutching a shirt and a pair of jeans, the only things she was able to

grab from her home before it went up in flames. “We were just going to

eat dinner, then this man came and told us there was smoke and we had to

get out. Now everything is gone. Everything for school tomorrow is gone.

Nothing was saved.”

Marcosa said the damage could have been much worse if the Fire

Department had not responded as quickly as it had.

“When they got here, it was very smoky and they had to ventilate the

roof,” she said. “‘But they were aggressive, and they did a super job.”

No damage estimates were available late Thursday.