Costa Mesa fire displaces 14 apartment residents

A botched plumbing repair job caused a fire at a Costa Mesa apartment complex Wednesday that displaced 14 people, a Fire Department official said.

The Costa Mesa Fire Department responded to a fire at 3025 Fillmore Way about 12:30 p.m. Firefighters noticed smoke coming out of a second-floor window, said Battalion Chief William Kershaw.

The firefighters found the blaze inside the wall of an upstairs bathroom between two apartment units.

“It was a little tricky getting to the fire and extinguishing it,” Kershaw said.

Three crews were needed to put out the fire, one on each side of the wall in two different apartment units and one on the roof of the building.

Fire officials determined the blaze started when the owner and manager of the apartments used a plumber’s blowtorch to fix some pipes in the wall, Kershaw said.

There were no injuries reported. The American Red Cross is assisting the displaced families with finding temporary shelter. Damage estimates were still being determined.

— Brianna Bailey