1 Killed As Flames Race Through Dana Point Home

DANA POINT (CBS) — Authorities said an elderly man has been killed in a house fire in Dana Point.

Crews responded to a fire call at a single-story home in the 33300 block of Bremerton Street at 1:27 a.m. Sunday, said Lt. Cicconn of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

According to the Orange County Register, two occupants of the home were rescued, one of which was pronounced dead at Mission Hospital.

That victim was identified as an elderly man.

A second victim -- an elderly female -- was taken to a hospital in critical condition, the newspaper reported.

Reporting for CBS2 and KCAL9, Joy Benedict says the woman remains in intensive care.

Neighbors told Benedict they complained about the couple's pack rat living conditions for years. There were, she said, four refrigerators in the front room alone. There was other debris, packed floor to ceiling in hallways.

The home is a total loss. Benedict reported the fire, fueled by debris, raged until just after 4 a.m.

Cell phone video recorded the intensity of the flames. Firefighters had trouble reaching the couple because of the home's clutter.

Neighbor Lorelei Largey told Benedict "[Neighbors] tried to get in through a side door...they tried a side window. They broke a window. And they just couldn't get in. Then firefighters tried the back, and they couldn't get in either. It took them a while to move the debris out of the way to get in to them."

Chief Kris Concepcion told Benedict the pack-rat conditions "created some complications where search and rescue was concerned."

The names of the deceased and his wife have not been released pending notification of family.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.