HUNTINGTON BEACH : 5 Firefighters Hurt in Blazing Four-Plex

Fire swept through an apartment building, leaving four families homeless and causing minor injuries to five firefighters, city fire officials said Tuesday.

Huntington Beach Battalion Chief Dennis Groat said the blaze apparently started late Monday in a laundry room of a four-plex in the 16000 block of Kellogg Circle. The fire traveled up an interior wall before reaching the attic, he said.

“We were watching TV when we smelled something and heard a crackling noise in the walls,” said 25-year-old Roger Swan, who lives on the first floor of the two-story building. “We yelled for people to come out of the building.”

About 30 firefighters arrived at 11:17 p.m. and took 50 minutes to extinguish the blaze. Groat said five firefighters suffered minor injuries when a small section of the attic caved in on them. They were treated at the scene and released.

Groat said at least 30% of the building was destroyed. Damage was estimated at $170,000.

“I work. I’m a single parent. . . . everything’s gone,” 30-year-old Peggy Williams said as she was being consoled by a neighbor. “I work so hard . . . “

Williams, a mother of two, said: “The first thing I did was get my kids out of there. They were sleeping at the time.”

Red Cross officials provided shelter for the displaced residents. Groat said the cause of the fire is under investigation.