Newport Beach apartment fire update: 39 households displaced, 17 units destroyed

Residents who were living in 39 units of a Newport Beach apartment complex that caught fire last weekend remained displaced as of Friday, and some will not be able to return to their homes, according to Irvine Co. officials.

The fire that scorched dozens of residences at the Promontory Point apartment complex along Pacific Coast Highway, between Bayview Drive and Jamboree Road, was reported at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 11. It began in one apartment, then spread rapidly through a shared attic.

Promontory Point resident Senicia Burke told the Daily Pilot she wasn’t home when the fire started but was informed by firefighters that it began in her kitchen. She also said there had been a delay between the first reports of smoke and the point at which alarms began going off.

The apartment complex has smoke alarms in each unit, as well as a building-wide fire detection system with a direct line to the fire department, Newport Beach city spokesman John Pope said. He added that officials had notified management at Promontory Point of “deficiencies” in their fire monitoring equipment once in February and again in March.

Repairs were underway at the time of the fire, Pope said.

Newport Beach fire officials initially reported that four units had been damaged. However, a total of 39 were impacted by the fire, representatives for the Irvine Co., which owns Promontory Point, said in a statement issued Thursday. As many as 17 were completely destroyed, and the people who were living in those will “require long-term relocation,” company officials said.

Those permanently displaced by the fire have been offered the option to move into new communities managed by the Irvine Co., Rebecca Corey, senior director, Promontory Point Villa Apartments, said. The company also provided financial assistance to cover lost furniture and other household items.

The residents of the other 22 units may be displaced for between one and four weeks, Corey said. They may also be eligible for aid from the Irvine Co.

The precise cause of the fire remained unclear as of Friday. There was no immediate indication of arson, Newport Beach police officials said.

There are 520 units at the Promontory Point apartment complex, with rents starting at around $4,100.

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