Irvine woman escapes house fire with help from neighbor

An Irvine woman escaped a fire in her home with minor injuries Wednesday after a neighbor banged on the door to warn her, authorities said.

The blaze started shortly before 11:30 a.m. in the garage of the home in the 14000 block of Chagall Avenue, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.

One resident was home but didn’t realize the blaze had started, according to Fire Authority spokesman Steve Concialdi.

“She did smell some smoke, but it wasn’t until a neighbor started pounding on her front door and yelling that her garage was on fire that she realized there was a fire,” Concialdi said.

The woman got out and called 911. She suffered some smoke inhalation and was treated at a hospital, according to the OCFA.

About 30 firefighters doused the blaze by 12:20 p.m., Concialdi said, but not before the flames destroyed the garage.

The fire spread to an upstairs bedroom and the attic, rendering the house uninhabitable, authorities said.

A fence and gate on the next-door property also were damaged, Concialdi said.

In all, the blaze caused $550,000 in damage, according to the OCFA.

Two multiplug electrical adapters were daisy-chained, causing an electrical malfunction that started the blaze, Concialdi said.

Such adapters should never be chained together because they can overload one another or the wall socket they’re drawing power from, he said.