Fire leaves family homeless

Deepa Bharath

A family of four was left without a home Wednesday after theirs

was badly damaged in a fire that raged for 15 minutes and threatened

other homes, officials said.

Costa Mesa and Newport Beach firefighters responded to the

two-alarm fire in the 2000 block of Paloma Drive at about 2 p.m.,

Costa Mesa Fire Capt. Kirk Dominic said. When they arrived,

firefighters saw “fire blowing out of a window,” threatening to

spread to a neighboring home, he said.

“They saw flames coming out of a side room,” Dominic said. “They

had to put a water line through the front door and cut up holes in

the roof to fight the fire.”

No one was in the home at the time, and there were no injuries, he

said. But two rooms were gutted, and the entire house suffered severe

heat and smoke damage, he said.

The neighboring home suffered minor damage from the fire, Dominic

said, pointing to the melted screens on windows and the blackened

flame-kissed edge of the roof that bore eerie testimony to the

proximity of the fire. Firefighters were able to hose down the flames

before they spread further, he said.

An estimate of the damage was not available Wednesday, but

officials said the house was not livable.

The family will be put up in a hotel for a couple of days, said

Bruce Hinkle, lead operations coordinator for the American Red Cross

of Orange County.

“My understanding is that their most immediate needs are clothing

and meals,” he said.

Hinkle added that it has been a “crazy week” for him and his

colleagues at the Red Cross.

“This is our fifth house fire in three days,” he said. “And it’s

only Wednesday.”

Christopher Croxson, who lived in the house with his mother, son

and brother, was out shopping when the fire broke out, he said. A

distraught Croxson sprinted in the direction of his burning home when

he learned about the incident.

He was stopped by police officers, who were manning the busy

intersection of 20th Street and Paloma Drive. He broke down and cried

as he sat on the sidewalk opposite his house, which was still spewing

dense black smoke.

Croxson, who had lived in the home for about 40 years, said he

couldn’t believe what had just happened.

“I’m really afraid for my mother,” he said. “She’s going to be

here any minute, and I don’t know how she’s going to take it.”

Fire investigators are still looking into what caused the fire,

Dominic said.

A Newport Beach General Services crew working nearby came to help

as soon as they saw the flames.

“The fire looked pretty bad when we got here,” said Tony Wilson, a

General Services crew member. “We tried to put water on the back of

the house, as well as the front access.”

Luis Pineda, who was painting a home across the street, said he

saw the fire and called 911.

“I was just here painting the windows,” he said. “Then suddenly I

heard a loud boom and then saw this big fire. I was going to paint

that house next week. Not anymore.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.