Fire Department

NEWPORT BEACH — Newport Beach Battalion Chief Chip Duncan remembers when firefighters used to have to practice their ladder work parked behind local grocery stores amid the Dumpsters. Retired firefighter Jerry Strom remembers when in the early 1970s, before the department had paramedics, all they would bring on medic calls was a blanket, some oxygen and a first aid kit. That's just a couple of the differences over the last few decades. Now imagine the changes over the last 100 years, as the Fire Department marks a century of service in the city.

Consider this the Southern California version of a cat-in-a-tree rescue. About 300 people gathered at the Newport Pier on Sunday to watch firefighters remove a seagull from a palm tree after it got caught in string, said Fire Department spokeswoman Jennifer Schulz. Firefighters were called to the pier about 6:26 p.m. after the seagull was seen dangling from its feet about 20 feet above the ground, according to a Fire Department news release. "[The onlookers] were very concerned for the bird's safety," said Capt.

Just how bad is the drought? Put it this way: Over the weekend a golfer accidentally chipped a rock, setting off a 12-acre blaze next to the Shady Canyon Golf Course in Irvine, Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Greg McKeown said Monday. The good news is the fire was put out, but not before more than 150 firefighters from around Orange County battled the blaze, with helicopters overhead and hand crews on the front lines, said McKeown. The fire spread across two hillsides in dry-as-tinderbox conditions, McKeown said.

Costa Mesa will keep its Fire Department instead of contracting out with county. Just before midnight Tuesday with a 5-0 vote - nearly six hours into its regular meeting - the City Council motioned to rescind the layoff notices issued to 78 sworn and nine nonsworn firefighters. The move effectively canceled a proposal to use the services of the Orange County Fire Authority, which was expected to absorb most - but not all - of the Fire Department's employees. The firefighters comprise nearly 43% of the 203 city employees who have received layoff notices since March 2011, when the council began its outsourcing research and implementation.

Deepa Bharath NEWPORT BEACH -- Interest in the city's Community Emergency Response Team has sparked the Fire Department to hold a special one-hour presentation on the team's training on Wednesday. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks renewed interest in the city's 2-year-old program, said Alan Silcock, member of the West Newport Beach Assn., which will host the public forum. "With all of the terrorism concerns, we thought it's a good idea to have the CERT program explained," he said.

Clad in T-shirts and jeans, more than 20 firefighters on Tuesday were nailing down reddish-brown molding, installing a new kitchen faucet and unrolling fresh grass in the frontyard. Despite all the progress on his Costa Mesa home, this isn't what owner Brent Hayward had in mind. Hayward, a 44-year-old captain in the Santa Fe Springs Fire Department, started remodeling his home two years ago and had planned to do much of the work himself. Those plans changed on April 21, the first day of an Ensenada cruise and bachelor party for a fellow firefighter.

A commercial fire reported on Costa Mesa's Westside Tuesday was extinguished in about five minutes, authorities said. A fire was reported at 3:22 p.m. at 1711 Monrovia Ave., near Volcom Entertainment, said Costa Mesa Police Lt. Bob Ciszek. Flames were reportedly seen on the roof after employees applying a tar-like seal accidentally set part of the roof on fire, said Costa Mesa Fire Battalion Chief Kevin Diamond. The workers began to douse the flames with a hose, and the Fire Department was able to put out the fire within minutes once arriving on scene, Diamond said.

Costa Mesa and Fountain Valley firefighters extinguished a fire early Sunday that left two adults temporarily homeless. About 2:40 a.m., the Costa Mesa Fire Department responded to a fire in an upstairs unit at a two-story apartment complex at 2575 San Clemente Drive, according to a news release. Firefighters brought the fire under control in about 20 minutes and prevented it from spreading to other homes. The Fountain Valley Fire Department provided mutual aid. No injuries were reported, and the two adults are being assisted by the Red Cross.

Scott Matthews' wife didn't understand why he insisted on keeping a fire extinguisher in his car — until Sunday. While driving in Newport Beach en route to Costa Mesa — his wife and 13-year-old daughter also in the car — he thought he saw a house fire in the 1600 block of Irvine Avenue. But after getting closer to the scene, Matthews, a 32-year employee of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, and his family soon found out it was a white Bentley on fire. Furthermore, the car, with five-foot-high flames coming from the engine compartment, was only a few feet away from the house.

BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS Fire sparks $1,000 in damage at yacht club A single-alarm fire at Newport Harbor Yacht Club Thursday afternoon caused about $1,000 in structural damage, Newport Beach Fire officials said. Firefighters responded to the call at about noon at the yacht club in the 700 block of West Bay Avenue and found that a fire had begun in an interior wall and extended up the side of the building, said Donna Boston, public information officer for the Fire Department.

Scott Matthews' wife didn't understand why he insisted on keeping a fire extinguisher in his car — until Sunday. While driving in Newport Beach en route to Costa Mesa — his wife and 13-year-old daughter also in the car — he thought he saw a house fire in the 1600 block of Irvine Avenue. But after getting closer to the scene, Matthews, a 32-year employee of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, and his family soon found out it was a white Bentley on fire. Furthermore, the car, with five-foot-high flames coming from the engine compartment, was only a few feet away from the house.

Costa Mesa will keep its Fire Department instead of contracting out with county. Just before midnight Tuesday with a 5-0 vote - nearly six hours into its regular meeting - the City Council motioned to rescind the layoff notices issued to 78 sworn and nine nonsworn firefighters. The move effectively canceled a proposal to use the services of the Orange County Fire Authority, which was expected to absorb most - but not all - of the Fire Department's employees. The firefighters comprise nearly 43% of the 203 city employees who have received layoff notices since March 2011, when the council began its outsourcing research and implementation.

Costa Mesa and Fountain Valley firefighters extinguished a fire early Sunday that left two adults temporarily homeless. About 2:40 a.m., the Costa Mesa Fire Department responded to a fire in an upstairs unit at a two-story apartment complex at 2575 San Clemente Drive, according to a news release. Firefighters brought the fire under control in about 20 minutes and prevented it from spreading to other homes. The Fountain Valley Fire Department provided mutual aid. No injuries were reported, and the two adults are being assisted by the Red Cross.

The most interesting feature of Colin McCarthy's commentary, " Can Costa Mesa affords $300k firefighters?" isn't that he gets so much wrong, but that he describes himself with such humility. At the end of his essay, published in Sunday's Daily Pilot, McCarthy identifies himself only as "president of the Costa Mesa Taxpayers Assn. " He is, of course, much, much more than that: a council appointee to the Costa Mesa Planning Commission and a likely candidate for a seat on the council itself.

Warm holiday weather drew crowds to Newport Beach, leading to an increase in emergency calls for lifeguards and firefighters. About 201,000 people visited the beach between Dec. 24 and Monday. Lifeguards responded to 31 first-aid calls and took preventive measures, such as diverting swimmers from riptides, which kept 172 incidents from escalating to rescues. The warm temperatures — reaching into the 80s over New Year's weekend — and decent swells were the likely cause for the throngs of revelers at Newport Beach's shoreline, said Newport Beach Fire Department spokeswoman Jennifer Schulz.

COSTA MESA - The Gordon family hadn't celebrated Christmas in six years. Harry got injured while working in an Apple Valley power plant, and Ronda was unable to work because of seizures. Soon the Gordons and their two children found themselves homeless. For 15 days, they lived in a tent in the desert during 114-degree heat. Eventually they made their way to the Costa Mesa Motor Inn - a roof over their heads, but no room for luxury. "It's hard, but we really became closer," Ronda said.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors decided this week to explore alternatives to using county firefighters at John Wayne Airport. Board members had considered replacing the contract with the Orange County Fire Authority, reducing current staffing levels and creating a specific airport fire department, but decided to maintain the status quo for the next year while researching alternatives. On the heels of the airport opening its new Terminal C, which is part of a $543-million expansion and renovation project, the supervisors considered a reduction to staffing.

A commercial fire reported on Costa Mesa's Westside Tuesday was extinguished in about five minutes, authorities said. A fire was reported at 3:22 p.m. at 1711 Monrovia Ave., near Volcom Entertainment, said Costa Mesa Police Lt. Bob Ciszek. Flames were reportedly seen on the roof after employees applying a tar-like seal accidentally set part of the roof on fire, said Costa Mesa Fire Battalion Chief Kevin Diamond. The workers began to douse the flames with a hose, and the Fire Department was able to put out the fire within minutes once arriving on scene, Diamond said.

COSTA MESA — City CEO Tom Hatch on Friday named a veteran Newport Beach firefighter as interim fire chief. Tom Arnold, 62, who last served as deputy chief at the Newport Beach Fire Department, will serve while City Hall assesses the viability of partnering with the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) to provide service to the city , according to a news release. Previous interim Fire Chief Kirk Dominic, who served in the position for a year, will return to field operations.

Consider this the Southern California version of a cat-in-a-tree rescue. About 300 people gathered at the Newport Pier on Sunday to watch firefighters remove a seagull from a palm tree after it got caught in string, said Fire Department spokeswoman Jennifer Schulz. Firefighters were called to the pier about 6:26 p.m. after the seagull was seen dangling from its feet about 20 feet above the ground, according to a Fire Department news release. "[The onlookers] were very concerned for the bird's safety," said Capt.