BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS Firefighters rescue cat...

BRIEFLY IN

THE NEWS

Firefighters rescue cat using technology

Newport Beach firefighters on Wednesday rescued a cat stuck inside

a wall using a thermal imager, officials said.

A thermal imager is usually used for detecting fires burning

inside walls, but on Wednesday, it helped save a kitten’s life.

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

from an apartment complex in the 1000 block of West Coast Highway,

said Donna Boston, spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Fire Department.

“Firefighters could hear the meows coming from the wall, but could

not locate the cat,” she said. Boston said they tried to put holes in

the drywall, but still could not find the kitten.

Finally, they scanned the wall with the thermal imager and found a

“hot spot,” she said.

“They cut right above the hot spot and out popped a kitten,”

Boston said. The cat was freed within minutes of the Fire

Department’s arrival and suffered little injury, she said.

Crash created hour delay on freeway

The northbound Corona del Mar Freeway’s connector to the San Diego

Freeway was sluggish for about an hour Thursday afternoon after a

driver in a Lexus crashed into a guard rail, California Highway

Patrol officials said.

The 1:20 p.m. accident caused two lanes to be blocked. A SigAlert

was issued for about 20 minutes, officials said.

The driver suffered minor injuries and was not taken to the

hospital, said Costa Mesa Fire officials who responded to the

incident.