Newport Beach Fire Department

Six Newport Beach firefighters were promoted during a Monday ceremony at City Hall. Fire Chief Tim Riley bestowed the new promotions on the men at 8 a.m. Monday. Riley pinned new badges on them in City Council chambers. Firefighters with new jobs and more responsibility include Daryl Mackey, Jim Philbin, Tim Richards, Jim Jeziorski, Ron Larson and Alan Baker. Mackey was promoted from fire engineer to fire prevention specialist. Philbin, Richards, Jeziorski and Larson bumped up from firefighter to fire engineer.

A man who died after a large set of waves slammed him into the rocky jetty at Newport’s world-famous body surfing spot the Wedge on Friday has been identified as a 50-year-old Lawndale resident. Monte Valentin was apparently body surfing at the Wedge about noon on Friday when he got pinned in by the rocks after a large set of waves, some up to 25 feet high, said Jennifer Schulz, spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Fire Department. Lifeguards pulled the body surfer onto a boat and gave him CPR. Paramedics took the man to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, where he was pronounced dead.

Newport Beach’s world famous bodysurfing location, the Wedge, claimed its first life in more than 20 years Friday afternoon when a wave slammed an unidentified man into the serrated jetty off the edge of the Balboa Peninsula, authorities said. The 50-year-old Los Angeles man was apparently body surfing at the Wedge about noon Friday when he got pinned in by the rocks after a large set of waves, some up to 25 feet high, said Jennifer Schulz, a spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Fire Department.

He had an eye for detail. Bill "Dutch" Van Horn left behind copious amounts of notes, names and pictures from his decades with the Newport Beach Fire Department, and showed his precision and focus in the lifelike wooden ducks he carved as decoys. Firefighters say there won't be another guy like Van Horn, who died from an accident in his home on June 6. He was 83. "He was an unbelievable guy. He was so humble," said retired Newport Beach firefighter Jerry Strom, who worked with Van Horn for years.

Newport Beach Fire Department will work to prepare citizens for emergencies at the Neighborhood Disaster Preparedness class from 6:30 to 9 p.m. tonight at the Sherman Library and Gardens Community Room. The class covers potential disasters that might affect the city and the city’s emergency management plan for those disasters. Residents will learn their role in that plan and how to prepare for the unexpected. Refreshments will be served to all residents in attendance.

The Newport Beach Fire Department recognized the efforts of its Community Emergency Response Team on Friday night at an awards banquet at the Newport Coast Community Center. Newport Beach volunteer Kate Mulvehill was recognized for using the Heimlich Maneuver to rescue her father from choking on a piece of steak in December. Mulvehill credited her Community Emergency Response Team training with helping her to save her father’s life. Karen Tringali was named volunteer of the year; Fire Captain Rob Beuch received the Kevin Pryor Memorial CERT Instructor of the Year, and Nancy Moran-Sanchez received the Spirit of CERT award.

Newport Beach lifeguards are asking for help saving lives. The lifeguards’ annual blood drive will be from 2 to 8 p.m. today at the lifeguards’ home base on Newport Pier. This year, the Newport Beach Fire Department will hold two blood drives because the American Red Cross is in dire need of donations. The second blood drive will be 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Aug. 19 at the lifeguard headquarters. There are openings for up to 100 donors both days. To donate blood, sign up by calling the Newport Beach Fire Department at (949)

36, Newport Beach ... Skipper of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce Commodores Club ... Involved in various committees at the Balboa Yacht Club ... Has taken on a more active role in the Newport Coast Concours d'Elegance show at the Irvine Spectrum ... Raising money with former members of the 17th Street Merchants and Community Assn. to give to the Newport Beach Fire Department ... Owns Hemphill's Rugs and Carpets on East 17th Street and has been in floor-covering business since 1988 ... An active sailor and a big car nut ... Married to Cherie for seven years ... Last year's ranking: 38

A cadre of emergency responders raced to Newport Center for a fire reported in a high-rise office building Saturday morning, but it turned out to be a minor blaze without injuries or major property damage. The fire, reported at about 8:00 a.m., did not spread beyond a computer server room on the 13th floor of 610 Newport Center Drive, according to a news release from the Newport Beach Fire Department. Light smoke seeped onto the 12th floor Apparently, the fire started in an air conditioning unit and caused about $3,000 in damage.

Newport Beach firefighters extinguished a fire Friday morning that had fully engulfed a motor home, authorities said. The 27-foot rig was ablaze when firefighters arrived at the scene on Southwest Cypress Street in Santa Ana Heights about 9:22 a.m. Initial reports said horses in a nearby corral were endangered by the fire. Firefighters found one horse in a corral at the rear of the property, but the animal escaped uninjured and was moved by neighbors, the Newport Beach Fire Department said.

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.

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.

The city of Newport Beach is scheduled Thursday to hold a test of its emergency alert system in conjunction with the statewide Great Shakeout, simulating what would happen in a 7.1 earthquake, according to authorities. More than 100 city employees and volunteers are expected to take part in the exercise, in addition to 30 other cities, and simulate a quake along the Newport-Inglewood fault, according to a news release from the Newport Beach Fire Department. The AlertOC emergency notification system will send out an alert to residential phone lines about 5 p.m. No businesses are expected to be contacted.

The 14th annual Fire & Lifeguard Appreciation Beach Party will take place Thursday at the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort & Marina. Individual tickets are $35, and sponsored tables are $375. Barbecue, cocktails and live music around a bonfire are on the itinerary. The event supports the Newport Beach Fire Department and lifeguards. Justin Carr, firefighter of the year, George Leeper, marine safety officer of the year, and Chip Going, the seasonal lifeguard of the year, will be honored, according to a news release from the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce.

NEWPORT BEACH — A teenager found himself temporarily trapped Wednesday afternoon after a 5-foot hole he dug in the sand caved in on him, authorities said. Newport Beach lifeguards at Tower 56 responded at 3:38 p.m. after being alerted that a young beachgoer near 54th Street was trapped, according to the Newport Beach Fire Department. The boy dug for an hour to create the hole along the berm near the waterline, according to the release. The sides of the hole collapsed, burying him inside.

NEWPORT BEACH — Every summer, school-aged children from neighborhoods like Dover Shores and Corona del Mar board the Balboa Island Ferry and travel together to the beach. They wear massive backpacks and matching red and blue clothes — all from a marquee surfwear brand, to be sure. Parents have to buy the expensive clothes and pay much more if they want their kids to join this group. These youngsters don't belong to a private swimming club or yacht club, but the city-run Junior Lifeguards program.

Newport Beach lifeguards pulled a man to safety and took him to a nearby hospital after he appeared to be struggling in the ocean Monday afternoon, officials said. An off-duty lifeguard saw a man struggling in the ocean about 4:40 p.m. Monday near Nordina Street, and with the help of two on-duty lifeguards pulled the man to safety, said Jennifer Schulz of the Newport Beach Fire Department. The lifeguards applied "advanced lifesaving treatment" before taking him to the hospital, Schulz said.

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