BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS Fire kills...

BRIEFLY IN

THE NEWS

Fire kills pet cat in Newport Beach

Two people escaped without injuries early Wednesday after a fire

ripped through the living room of their Newport Beach townhome,

killing a pet cat and causing $150,000 in damage, fire officials

said.

Firefighters responded to the call that came in at about 2 a.m.

Wednesday from the home in the 2100 block of Vista Laredo, said Donna

Boston, public information officer for the Newport Beach Fire

Department.

She said the two people were asleep in the upstairs bedrooms when

they heard the smoke detector go off. They went downstairs to find

the living room couch ablaze. One of the occupants tried to put out

the fire with a cushion while the other one called 911, Boston said.

But soon, the smoke and heat got to them and they ran out. Boston

said they tried to get back inside to get their three cats, but could

not because the door was locked.

Firefighters found one missing cat but could not save it, Boston

said. The other two survived.

Boston said the smoke detector saved the residents’ lives because

they would not have woken up without it.

The fire was confined to the one unit. The cause of the fire is

under investigation, but investigators believe it to have been

electrical, Boston said.

-- Deepa Bharath