Nearly 200 people were displaced when a fire ripped through an apartment building in Cypress, an Orange County Fire Authority captain said Wednesday.
The blaze inside a two-story apartment building in the 9590 block of Graham Street was reported about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, said OCFA Capt. Steve Concialdi.
“The fire destroyed five apartments,” Concialdi said. “It also destroyed five cars in the building’s garage and damaged three more. Southern California Edison also had to shut power off to the whole building because electricity was arcing and damaging electrical systems.”
This caused 44 apartments to be evacuated, resulting in between 175 and 200 residents of the building being displaced. Those residents were being assisted by the Red Cross and the city of Cypress, Concialdi said.
Firefighters managed to stop the flames from igniting the fuel inside the cars that were parked in the garage, which saved a lot more apartments from being damaged, Concialdi said.
No injuries were reported. Fifty-five firefighters were dispatched to the scene from the OCFA, Anaheim and Garden Grove fire departments, Concialdi said. The flames were knocked down in about an hour.
The fire did an estimated $650,000 damage to the building, $150,000 to the eight cars, and $50,000 to the contents of the five burned apartments, Concialdi said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
—City News Service