Crime & Safety
Aquarium Causes Fire at Newport Apartment
No one was home when a fire broke out Wednesday night at a unit in the Baypoint Apartments, according to a fire official. The sprinkler system kept the fire in check until firefighters arrived.
An apartment caught fire Wednesday night in Newport Beach likely because of an aquarium, but no one was injured, a fire captain reported.
The fire was reported about 8:30 p.m. at a second-floor unit inside the Baypoint Apartments complex. The residents of the apartment that caught fire were not home when the blaze started, but a fire alarm notified neighbors, according to Newport Beach Fire Captain Glenn White.
"Newport Beach Fire investigators initial findings indicate electronic equipment providing power to an aquarium was the cause of this fire," Glenn said in a released statement. "The aquarium and its contents were destroyed."
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When firefighters arrived on scene they found one room on fire that was "being held in check by the activation of the automatic sprinkler system," Glenn reported.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze within 10 minutes of arriving on scene.
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The fire did not spread to any other apartments, however the unit below from where the fire started suffered water damage. The fire caused about $70,000 in damage to both apartments, Glenn said.
Glenn said it is not know at this point if the aquarium from Wednesday's fire was the salt water type.
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