Passerby sees smoke, calls 911 and helps save burning Irvine house

Firefighters doused a blaze that destroyed a home’s kitchen Wednesday afternoon in Irvine, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
A passerby saw smoke coming from a home in the 10 block of Rossano and called 911 about 2:10 p.m., OCFA spokesman Steve Concialdi said.
About 30 firefighters arrived and controlled the blaze within 15 minutes, according to Concialdi.
He credited the passerby with quickly alerting authorities to the smoke.
“If that guy doesn’t call and just drives on ... that fire would’ve gotten well-established because there was nobody home at the time,” Concialdi said.
In addition to flames gutting the kitchen, smoke caused damage throughout the home, according to the OCFA.
About $100,000 in damage was done to the home’s contents and $200,000 to the structure itself, authorities estimated.
Investigators suspect the fire was accidental but aren’t sure what sparked it.
“We know the homeowner had been cooking earlier, but since nobody was home we’re still trying to determine the cause of the fire,” Concialdi said.