LAGUNA BEACH : Fire Destroys Home at Treasure Island
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A fire destroyed a seaside mobile home Wednesday, causing $35,000 damage and killing two pet birds, Laguna Beach fire officials said.
Battalion Chief Joe McClure said no one was injured in the 8:42 a.m. blaze at the Treasure Island Trailer Park, 30801 Coast Highway, which began while owner Vicki Wantland was at work.
No other structures were damaged in the five-minute fire, which shot out through the windows and was fueled in part by the mobile home’s wooden paneling, he said.
Wantland’s two pet cockatiels died in the fire, McClure said.
The fire appears to have started because a fireplace in the structure was aged and cracked, allowing heat to penetrate to a wall, McClure said.
“The heat over the years had turned the wood in the wall to become like charcoal and have a fairly low ignition (temperature),” he said.
He said homeowners should periodically inspect fireplace mortar by poking it with a screwdriver to check for brittleness.
“If it appears weak, they should contact a masonry contractor and have it repaired,” he said.
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