Firefighters Save 2 Women Trapped in Burning House

Firefighters rescued two young women trapped in a fast-moving fire that gutted their two-story Newport Beach home early Tuesday, fire officials said.

Candles left burning overnight were the probable cause of the blaze at a home near 16th Street and Tustin Avenue, said John Blauer, community relations officer of the Fire Department.

“It was an intense, intense, fire,” Blauer said. “Had it gone another five minutes, the girls might not be here, and other structures could have been threatened too.”

Sarah Weeks and Kristine Arnold, both 20, were asleep in an upstairs bedroom when they became aware of the fire about 2 a.m. and telephoned for help, Blauer said.

As firetrucks raced to the scene, the women kept in touch with emergency dispatchers on a cordless telephone. They placed wet blankets beneath the bedroom door and retreated to an adjacent bathroom. But shortly after the engines arrived, flames had burned through the wiring and cut off their telephone.

By then, Blauer said, the blaze had burned from the ground floor to the upstairs rooms, blocking the women’s escape. After battling flames downstairs in the living room and along a staircase, firefighters were able to get up to the women and escort them outside.

Weeks and Arnold were treated for smoke inhalation at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, hospital spokeswoman Kelly Smith said. Weeks also suffered a second-degree burn on her foot. Arnold was treated for a cut toe.

The blaze, which was extinguished in about 30 minutes by 21 firefighters, caused an estimated $100,000 damage to the house and $30,000 to its contents, Blauer said.

Because of the severity of damage, fire investigators don’t know whether fire detectors were functional. All the rooms except for the master bedroom were gutted, officials said.

An investigation was continuing.