Newport Beach : Smoke Detector Helps in Mobile Home Fire
A 52-year-old man who suffered minor burns after a fire broke out in his mobile home was probably spared more serious injury because a smoke detector did its job, firefighters said Friday.
Darryl Freed suffered second-degree burns on his left hand Thursday night while trying to extinguish a fire that originated from a malfunction in the mobile home’s heating unit, Newport Beach Fire Marshal Dennis Lockard said. Freed was taken to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian, where he was treated and released.
The fire at De Anza Mobile Home Park, 300 E. Coast Highway, caused an estimated $100,000 in damages to the mobile home and $25,000 to its contents, Lockard said.
“For all intents and purposes,” he said, “most of the structure and the contents were destroyed.”
However, Lockard added, “The man was saved by a smoke detector.”
Lockard said that Freed heard the smoke alarm from his living room shortly before 9 p.m. He attempted to control the fire with a portable extinguisher, but was unsuccessful.
When firefighters arrived, they saw “a fast-moving fire with flashover conditions” that engulfed the dwelling, Battalion Chief Ron Sutherland said.
It took 34 firefighters from three cities to bring the blaze under control, Sutherland said.
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