Newport firefighters grapple with fires, collisions
Newport Beach firefighters responded to 20 emergency calls Sunday, including a multivehicle collision and residential fires.
Firefighters went to a crash about 3:46 p.m. Sunday on Jamboree Road involving multiple vehicles, according to a news release from the Newport Beach Fire Department.
One person was transported to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, although the patient’s condition was unknown as of Monday.
A smoking oven about 30 minutes later sent firefighters to Balboa Island, where an apartment in the 300 block of Marine Avenue was filled with smoke, according to the release.
Something apparently was burning in the oven.
The burning material was extinguished outside of the apartment, and the resident was checked for smoke inhalation.
About 30 minutes after the Balboa Island fire, Fashion Island station firefighters were sent to the Newport Bluffs apartment complex in the 5400 block of Residencia. Once there, they found a balcony fire at a unit.
The man who lived there, Bryan Ray Montgomery, 22, was treated at the scene for significant burns, then taken to Western Medical Center.
Evidence at the apartment, however, indicated that he may have been manufacturing a controlled substance. He was later arrested at the hospital on suspicion of that crime, said Newport Beach Police Department spokeswoman Kathy Lowe on Monday.
A report of smoke was also called into authorities about 8:42 p.m. in the 1900 block of Tradewinds Lane, although when firefighters arrived they were unable to locate a fire and the smoke dissipated.
However, near 10 p.m. Newport Beach and Costa Mesa firefighters were dispatched back to the home and found a hot spot inside a wall near the rear of the house.
Upon opening the wall, firefighters found charring. No official cause has been determined, but initial indicators show it was likely an electrical fire.
Corona del Mar Today’s Amy Senk also contributed to this report.
Twitter: @lawilliams30