Firefighters

Newport Beach firefighters will pay more toward their pensions, and newly hired firefighters will receive less in their retirement, according to a union contract the City Council unanimously approved Tuesday. With the increased contributions and a less generous retirement plan, Newport joins a growing roster of California cities reforming their pensions and saving long-term employment costs. "This is about finding balance about what is fair for our dedicated employees, and what is fair for taxpayers," said Councilwoman Leslie Daigle.

Authorities were called to a fire inside a 51-foot yacht docked outside a Newport Beach residence Monday afternoon. Newport Beach firefighters responded at 1:48 p.m. to a Sunseeker motor yacht at an Evening Star Lane home's residential dock in Dover Shores, according to a Fire Department news release Firefighters saw smoke coming from the yacht's main cabin and forced their way inside. The cabin was filled with heavy smoke and flames, but firefighters were able to contain the blaze to the inside of the yacht, according to the release.

Three Newport Beach firefighters injured while battling a fire in a decorative chimney facade have been released from the hospital, authorities said Tuesday. Firefighters responded to a fire in Big Canyon on Rue Deauville about 7:39 p.m. Monday, the Newport Beach Fire Department said in a news release. Firefighters tried to put out the blaze as it moved to the walls and attic outside the chimney case. They ventilated the roof to help extinguish the blaze. The fire was put out in about 20 minutes, the release said.

Costa Mesa police officers and firefighters are scheduled to meet with community members Sunday to answer people's questions and have pictures taken, Lt. Bryan Glass said in a news release. The meet and greet is to take place at the Target store, 3030 Harbor Blvd., from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., the release said. Members from both departments will answer questions on community, traffic and animal control issues. Children are invited to take pictures with department members and their vehicles.

A small house fire broke out in Newport Beach late Thursday night but firefighters extinguished it quickly, authorities said. Firefighters responded to a call on Bridgeport Road at about 11:46 p.m. Thursday and put the flames out within five minutes, Newport Beach Fire Department spokeswoman Jennifer Schulz said in a news release. One person was transported to the hospital and another was treated at the scene — both for injuries not sustained during the fire, the release said.

There’s a sign on one of the refrigerators inside Newport Beach Fire Station No. 2 that reads: “Rockstar drinks: 50 cents; Large Gatorades, $2; Small Gatorades, $1; sodas, 50 cents. Always having something to drink…priceless.” While city taxpayers might pay their salaries, they don’t directly pay for the caffeine firefighters and medics ride on in the middle of the night while they are saving lives. It’s just one of several things firefighters and paramedics said the public often doesn’t know or is mistaken about.

COSTA MESA — A firefighter who was injured in a carport blaze is expected to return to work next week, Fire Department officials said Friday. The firefighter suffered second-degree burns on his hands Thursday when he grabbed a metal post on a chain link fence to get into Costa Mesa's Corp. Yard, 2310 Placentia Ave., said Battalion Chief Bill Kershaw. The metal post was hot enough to burn through the firefighter's gloves, Kershaw added. The fire had consumed about six outdoor carports and had heated the nearby fence that firefighters had to break through to get to the flames, he said.

Newport Beach firefighters responded to 20 emergency calls Sunday, including a multivehicle collision and residential fires. Firefighters went to a crash about 3:46 p.m. Sunday on Jamboree Road involving multiple vehicles, according to a news release from the Newport Beach Fire Department. One person was transported to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, although the patient's condition was unknown as of Monday. A smoking oven about 30 minutes later sent firefighters to Balboa Island, where an apartment in the 300 block of Marine Avenue was filled with smoke, according to the release.

Firefighters are working on putting out a Friday afternoon house fire on the Balboa Peninsula, a Newport Beach Fire Department official said. The fire broke out on the roof of a house on J Street sometime after 4:30 p.m., said NBFD Spokeswoman Jennifer Schulz. It was not yet clear if anyone had been injured in the blaze and how much had been damaged. —Lauren Williams

Newport Beach firefighters will pay more toward their pensions, and newly hired firefighters will receive less in their retirement, according to a union contract the City Council unanimously approved Tuesday. With the increased contributions and a less generous retirement plan, Newport joins a growing roster of California cities reforming their pensions and saving long-term employment costs. "This is about finding balance about what is fair for our dedicated employees, and what is fair for taxpayers," said Councilwoman Leslie Daigle.

Newport Beach firefighters could start contributing significantly more to their pension costs, officials said Friday. The City Council on Tuesday will consider a plan that would gradually move firefighters toward paying the full portion of their contributions to a state retirement fund. A second, lower retirement tier would go into effect for new hires that would eventually prove less costly for the city. FOR THE RECORD: An earlier version incorrectly reported the meeting would be held Monday.

The Orange County Professional Firefighters Assn. has endorsed Democrat Bob Rush in the 74th Assembly District race, Rush said in a phone interview Monday. The organization represents about 900 firefighters, including those in Irvine and Laguna Beach, two cities in the 74th District, which also includes swaths of Newport Beach, Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach. "Mr. Rush offers fresh ideas, real solutions and is willing to work with both Republicans and Democrats to address the enormous challenges our state is facing," Tony Bedolla, the association's director of government affairs, said in a news release.

Newport Beach firefighters arrived at an apartment building on Amigos Way about 4:30 p.m. Thursday to discover a reported fire was already extinguished, according to a news release. Paramedics treated one person who was then transported to Hoag Hospital. Firefighters checked to make sure the fire had not spread through the walls to neighboring apartments. The fire is under investigation, but appears to have started as a result of plumbing work. Damage is estimated at about $10,000.

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.

Last month, I wrote about the city of Costa Mesa's pension recipient list and pointed out that the number of city employees earning six-figure pensions had increased by nearly 50% in just one year. On the heels of that news, the city has now published its employee salary information on its website for 2011, and the figures are even more alarming. Eighty-seven employees earn more than $200,000 a year in salary and benefits. Seventeen firefighters make more than $250,000. Topping that list are two fire battalion chiefs with a whopping $347,000 per year and $313,000 per year, respectively.

Wendy Leece, my City Council colleague, recently wrote about the "grassroots movement" that's formed to oppose the proposed city charter and improvement it brings. Let me take her assertions one by one. "It is truly a David vs. Goliath battle about principles over politics in Costa Mesa. " In a way, Wendy is actually correct. The "David" is the Costa Mesa residents. The "Goliath" is the unions that have been so successful in electing council members and securing unsustainable pensions that they nearly bleed our city dry. "Goliath" (unions and their supporters)

Costa Mesa and county emergency crews responded Friday afternoon to "lots of smoke and lots of fire" at Talbert Nature Preserve, said Costa Mesa Fire Battalion Chief Kevin Diamond. Crews arrived about 1 p.m. to a brush fire that affected about a quarter-acre of the southern section of the county park. The fire was put out in about 30 minutes, Diamond said. Three engines and one truck responded to the area of the park where 19th Street meets Balboa Boulevard. As of 2:30 p.m. Friday, crews were working to clear brush around the area affected by the blaze as a standard safety procedure, Diamond said.

A former Newport Beach firefighter has sued the city in Orange County Superior Court, alleging racial discrimination during his probationary employment period. Christian Benard, 37, who is of Nicaraguan heritage, started in the city's probationary firefighting class in March 2009. He alleges that during his 10-month stint he was not given proper medical aid training and was unfairly criticized by captains at Fire Station No. 7 in Santa Ana Heights. Benard asserts in court papers that immediately after he was assigned to the station, he noticed that he was treated differently than firefighters in his class who were not Latino, and that he sought his own medical aid training when it wasn't provided.

Newport Beach firefighters quickly extinguished a blaze at a Balboa Peninsula home Sunday night, saving most of the home's interior. Twenty-foot flames originally trapped neighbors of the Clubhouse Avenue home, but firefighters evacuated them. No injuries were reported. The blaze apparently started in a wall near the home's fireplace, according to a news release by the Newport Beach Fire Department. Residents called 911 about 9 p.m. after their power shut off and they noticed bubbling in the walls near the fireplace, according to firefighters.