By Sara Cardine
Daily Pilot
COSTA MESA, Calif. — More than 100 firefighters and first responders on Sunday rallied to extinguish a three-alarm fire at an industrial building in Costa Mesa that shot flames high into the air and displaced three businesses.
The fire was reported to dispatch at 5:15 p.m. Sunday on Talbert Avenue, near the Santa Ana River, in the city of Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue Asst. Fire Chief Jason Pyle said Monday.
But within minutes, the location of the fire had been pinpointed to a parcel across the river, on the 3500 block of Cadillac Avenue in Costa Mesa. Crews arrived on scene to find an on- site storage area already consumed by flames.
“There was a large amount of fire with multiple delivery box trucks and a large number of pallets inside a fenced area, " Pyle reported. “Fire had already impinged on and penetrated into the building.”
About 45 minutes into the fire response, a third alarm was called, bringing assistance from Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley, the Orange County Fire Authority and other agencies.
Fifteen units worked together to extinguish the blaze by 6:51 p.m., though crews remained on scene throughout much of the night.
“At that point, we were just on fire watch for the building for the night, taking care of hot spots, " Pyle said Monday.
Spotting plumes of smoke from various vantage points near the 405 Freeway, local residents took to social media Sunday, posting photos and inquiring into the exact location.
The light industrial building, located at 3595 Cadillac Ave. was home to three businesses — an electrical supply company, a wholesale furniture enterprise and a gym, according to officials. No one is thought to have been in the building at the time of the incident, and no injuries were reported.
However, inspectors declared the structure to be unstable, red-tagging the property to prevent people from entering it. Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue is actively investigating the cause of the fire using camera and drone footage as well as eyewitness accounts, Pyle said Monday.
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