2 Area Fires Displace 20 People, Injure 4

Two greater-alarm residential fires this morning displaced 20 people and injured four, keeping Pasadena firefighters busy in the process, a spokeswoman said.

The first was at 1:30 a.m. in a 5,000-square-foot home on Rancheros Road at Linda Vista Avenue near the Rose Bowl, said Fire Department spokeswoman Linda Derderian.

Three adults got out of the house without injury and the blaze received a greater alarm response because of the area's narrow roads and the size of the home, Derderian said.

The damage to the structure was estimated at $100,000 and contents was $50,000, she said.

The residents found their own accommodations and did not need the help of the American Red Cross.

The second fire was at 2:30 a.m. in a two-story fourplex in the 200 block of Penn Street, Derderian said.

Four people suffered minor injuries after jumping from a second-floor unit of the building and were transported to a hospital for treatment, she said.

“They could not exit the stairwell due to heavy smoke and flames.”

All four units sustained smoke damage and at least two sustained fire damage, leaving 20 residents displaced and in need of the services of the Red Cross. That included two infants.

“Many residents escaped with the clothes off their back,” Derderian said.

That fire was a greater-alarm due to the multiple units involved, she said.

—City News Service