Newport Beach structure fire destroys 3 cars

Deepa Bharath

A single alarm fire that broke out in the parking structure of an

apartment complex Tuesday night destroyed three cars and damaged

several miscellaneous items stored in the back of the structure,

officials said.

Firefighters received several 911 calls reporting the 11 p.m. fire

at the Coronado Apartments at the corner of Irvine Avenue and 16th

Street, said Donna Boston, public information officer for the Newport

Beach Fire Department.

Once on scene, firefighters “saw a 50- to 75-foot glow spanning

across the parking structure,” she said.

“The fire was burning brightly with great intensity as

firefighters attacked the fire in the rear of the structure, which

housed storage for the apartment complex,” Boston said.

The smoke came down, forcing fire crews to their knees as they

tried to flood the hottest part of the fire, she said.

“They said they heard several small explosions and they could feel

the heat of the fire,” Boston said.

She said the fire radiated so much heat that she could still feel

the heat an hour later as she walked on the tennis court on top of

the parking structure. It took about an hour to put out the fire,

Boston said.

No one was hurt, but a couple of residents were treated for smoke

inhalation, she said. About 25 residents were evacuated for an hour,

but were able to go back to their apartments once the fire was put

out, Boston said.

The heat of the fire blistered the paint on nearby fences and even

melted a plastic bowl that was left out on a second-story balcony,

she said. Boston added that the heat of the fire was complicated by

the type of material that was burning, including the cars, stored

mattresses, appliances and furniture.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Boston said the apartments would have been engulfed in flames if

not for a fire lane that separated the parking structure from the

apartments.

“It was fortunate the apartment complex was designed like that,”

she said. “If the apartments had been any closer, they would’ve

surely been involved.”