Two people jumped to safety from a second-story apartment when a two-alarm fire erupted Thursday morning in a Garden Grove apartment building.
Crews responded about 3 a.m. to the 13300 block of El Prado Avenue and located at least two units ablaze in the two-story structure, according to Capt. Thanh Nguyen of the Garden Grove Fire Department.
By the time crews had arrived, a man had jumped from the window of a second-story apartment and a woman was hanging from the window, Nguyen said. The woman also jumped before crews could reach her. Neither person was seriously injured and both declined to be taken to a hospital, Nguyen said.
A preliminary investigation determined the fire may have started in a ground floor apartment and spread upward, Nguyen said.
Residents tried to warn their neighbors of the fire as they ran from their apartments.
“We heard somebody scream that there was a fire,” resident Sandra Alvarez told ABC7. “As soon as we heard that, my husband started screaming and yelling `there’s a fire,’ and we just screamed really loud to wake up the whole building.”
Five cats were killed in the blaze and three others were rescued and treated by firefighters, Nguyen said.
A crew of 55 firefighters fought the blaze and knockdown was declared about 3:30 a.m., Nguyen said.
It was unclear how many apartments were damaged and the Red Cross was called in to help any residents displaced by the flames.