Fire Started by Unattended Cooking Oil Causes $250K in Damage

Originally posted at 815 p.m. June 1, 2014. Edited to correct street name.

A non-injury fire sparked by unattended cooking oil did $250,000 in damage at a Lake Forest apartment building today and left four people displaced, authorities said.

The blaze was reported at a two-story building in the 23400 block of Packer Place at 11:38 a.m., according to the Orange County Fire Authority.

Forty firefighters responded and knocked down the flames in 10 minutes, the OCFA reported.

Three apartments sustained damage, according to the OCFA, which reported that estimated losses totaled $200,000 to the structure and $50,000 to its contents.

The displaced residents - three adults and a child, were being assisted by the American Red Cross, authorities said.

--City News Service