An electric short causes blaze in attic...

An electric short causes blaze in attic

An early morning fire in an attic fire on Kikui Drive on Sunday

caused nearly $100,000 in damages, but no injuries.

The couple awoke upon hearing their smoke detector go off at about

6:20 a.m. in their home just east of Brookhurst Street and south of

the Fountain Valley border.

After calling 911, the husband and a neighbor emptied a couple of

fire extinguishers and set up a garden hose from the garage to the

attic until firefighters arrived and controlled the fire in about

five minutes, said Brian Springer, Huntington Beach Fire Department

investigator.

“This serves as a reminder to people that smoke detectors make a

difference,” Springer said. “They did everything right in this

situation to save their home.”

Investigators determined the fire to be accidental, caused by an

electric short circuit in the attic that ignited some of its wood

framing and spread.

If the fire hadn’t been discovered quickly and had claimed the

entire house, damages would have exceeded $500,000, Springer said.

Off-duty firefighters control house fire

Two off-duty firefighters used a garden hose to hamper a house

fire on Alexandria Drive last week until Huntington Beach and

Fountain Valley firefighters arrived and controlled the fire.

The residents, who weren’t home at the time of the fire, suffered

a $100,000 loss. Neighbors saw smoke coming from the attic vents and

notified the off-duty firefighters who lived in the neighborhood,

then the fire department.

It took firefighters 16 minutes to control the blaze and save the

residents another $300,000 in damages. There were no injuries, and

the cause of the fire is under investigation.

New boat goes up in smoke off state beach

A boat carrying seven passengers caught fire off Bolsa Chica State

Beach’s lifeguard tower 28 on Sept. 13, producing a large column of

black smoke that could be seen for miles.

The driver, who had bought the boat the day before, jumped out and

swam to shore with the other six passengers and escaped injury.

The afternoon fire was extinguished by 24 firefighters. The cause

is under investigation.

Firefighter, paramedic given state honor

The California State Firefighter’s Assn. honored

firefighter-paramedic Chad Stewart with the Medal of Valor at a

luncheon on Sept. 14 for trying to pull a man from his burning car on

the freeway while off duty.

Stewart, who suffered second-degree burns to his forearms and

forehead, will also receive the Award of Valor at the Chamber of

Commerce Public Safety Awards on Oct. 7 at the Hilton Waterfront

Beach Resort.

Youth Summit wins state attorney’s award

The Huntington Beach Youth Summit was named the State Attorney

General’s Crime Prevention Program of the Year last week.

The youth summit, started by Huntington Beach Police Department

personnel, is a three-day seminar held in San Luis Obispo where

facilitators work with students to build their leadership skills and

promote a drug- and alcohol-free lifestyle.

The program is for students from the Huntington Beach Union High

School District.

Seat-belt campaign receives grant

The state Office of Traffic and Safety has approved a $30,000

traffic-safety grant used to support the Huntington Beach Police

Department’s Buckle-Up America/Operation ABC National Mobilization

campaign.

The campaign will run from Nov. 17 to 30. The grant was awarded as

part of the California Seat Belt Compliance Campaign program, which

has a goal of achieving 94% seat belt usage statewide.