Senior Center has phone lines up following fire

The Costa Mesa Senior Center had the phone lines up and running again Tuesday, the first time since a small fire that began in the building’s computer lab caused enough smoke damage to shut the center down, authorities said.

Volunteers and staff manned a handful of phones set up in the center’s sun room on the first floor of the building. That room and the main auditorium are the only two open for the time being, said Darryl Kim, the center’s activities coordinator.

Smoke from the fire made its way into the building’s ventilation system, Costa Mesa Fire Battalion Chief Scott Broussard said.

The fire began Aug. 29 in a computer lab on the second floor of the center, Broussard said.

No one was injured.

The building is expected to reopen completely by the end of the week. Programs have been moved temporarily to elsewhere in the city.

For more information call the center’s front desk at (949) 645-2356.

— Kelly Strodl