Damage Slight in Fullerton Blaze : Fast-Moving Fire Is Doused Quickly

A fire that danced from rooftop to rooftop in a Fullerton neighborhood was quickly extinguished by residents and firefighters Tuesday before it could do much damage.

No one was injured in the fire, which broke out near Sunny Crest Drive shortly before 5 p.m. The flames were extinguished in 23 minutes, fire officials said.

Damage, according to the Fullerton Fire Department, was confined to the roofs of an apartment complex and two single family homes. A Fire Department spokesman could not estimate the dollar amount of damage.

Four fire engines arrived quickly in the neighborhood, where many of the homes have wood shake roofs. A Fire Department spokesman said a second alarm was sounded because three spot fires were reported in the hot, dry weather conditions.

Neighbor Maryanne Smith said she smelled the fire before she saw it. Next, she saw billowing smoke and then the flames.

“There was a crackling sound, kind of like a bonfire,” the Sunny Crest Drive resident said, adding that firefighters arrived right away. She said an unidentified teen-age boy helped fight a fire on her roof with a garden hose. The fire burned a hole in the roof.

Witness John Hamshaw said he looked out his back window and saw smoke.

“All of a sudden, it burst into flames in the tree. So I called 911 (the emergency number) . . . . The trees and the bamboo cover on the fence (also caught fire) and spread to a home on Sunny Crest,” Hamshaw said.

It appeared that the fire had started in the tree and jumped to a rooftop, Hamshaw said. While it was a very hot day, it was not very windy, he added.

Other witnesses said it appeared that the fire started in a trash can and set the tree ablaze. From there it jumped across an alley to the roof of a two-story apartment building and across Sunny Crest to the Smith home.

The blaze also damaged the roof of a home where the tree caught fire. And apartment complex resident Jerry Georges, 44, said his bedroom was damaged by water used to battle the flames.