Costa Mesa firefighters battle 2-alarm commercial fire after employees self-evacuate

Firefighters on Sunday extinguished a two-alarm fire that broke out at a two-story commercial building on 16th Street in Costa Mesa, where two employees of a business self-evacuated before calling 911, officials said Monday.

Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue Capt. Joe Noceti said the call came in shortly before 9:30 p.m. Sunday, after occupants of the building on the 700 block of 16th Street, who’d been working late building electric bicycles, smelled smoke coming from the building’s second floor.

“They smelled the smoke and exited the building to call 911,” Noceti said of the occupants, who safely evacuated and required no medical care. “Our fire units had seen some smoke coming from the back of the building — it ended up being a two-alarm fire.”

The second floor of a business on the 700 block of 16th Street, where a two-alarm fire broke out Sunday night.

(Courtesy of Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue)

With assistance from Huntington Beach and Newport Beach fire departments, crews created vertical ventilation in the roof of the building to allow the smoke to escape from below and provide visibility to responders inside the building.

Crews accessed the fire by pulling a hose line into the building and ascending an internal stairwell in an offensive fire attack, where the blaze is battled directly at its source. Although the fire was extinguished in about 30 minutes, crews remained on scene for hours to overhaul the area, ensuring it had been completely cleared.

Due to the materials located on site, affiliated with the nature of the business, Noceti said a Huntington Beach hazmat team was called in to remove potentially hazardous materials from the scene.

“With the overhaul, they were there until almost two in the morning,” the captain said.

Although at least one adjacent business shared a wall with the affected business, firefighters prevented the blaze from spreading to any other office spaces, as well as the first floor of the business itself, where covers were placed over items of value to prevent water damage.

Costa Mesa firefighters battled a blaze Sunday at a business on 16th Street.

(Courtesy of Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue)

Exactly what caused the fire was still being investigated Monday, according to Noceti. In the meantime, the business has been temporarily closed to allow staff from the city’s building division to assess possible structural damage.

Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.