Newport fire department toughs out busy night

The Newport Beach Fire Department stretched its resources to the limit Friday night and early Saturday morning as teams battled two residential fires and a blaze that followed a traffic collision.

Newport Beach units first responded shortly after 11 p.m. to a fire on the second floor of a house on Gardenia Way. Firefighters quickly put out the blaze, which apparently started near a chimney and was confined to a single room. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation.

The second incident occurred shortly before 1 a.m. Police and fire units responded to a traffic collision at the intersection of Newport Boulevard and 23rd Street, where a vehicle had burst into flames following a police pursuit.

Lt. Bill Hartford said the driver, a 17-year-old male from Moreno Valley, crashed his car into a light pole after police chased him for several blocks. The juvenile, whose name was not released, was transferred to Orange County Juvenile Hall and detained on suspicion of vehicle theft.

Soon after, the department responded to another fire at the Park Newport Apartments off Jamboree Road, where a bathroom had caught fire apparently due to an unattended candle. The Orange County Fire Authority contributed one unit to assist the Newport Beach crews.

— Michael Miller