Sprinklers douse fire, save Crab Cooker

Sue Doyle

NEWPORT BEACH -- A fire blackened a storage area at the popular Crab

Cooker Restaurant on Tuesday and might have destroyed the entire facility

if it were not for an automated sprinkler system, authorities said.

Oily kitchen rags bundled together and placed above a washing machine

were blamed for the fire, which began around 2:30 a.m. inside the storage

area of the restaurant at 2200 Newport Blvd., said Lt. John Blauer of the

Newport Beach Fire and Marine Department.

“Had it not been for the sprinklers, that place would have gone up in

smoke,” Blauer said.

An automated fire alarm inside the restaurant alerted firefighters,

who extinguished the flames within 26 minutes.

Flames were confined to the storage unit and did not spread to the

kitchen or eating area. Damage was estimated at $1,000. There were no

reported injuries.

The restaurant was operating as usual Tuesday. Representatives of the

Crab Cooker were not available for comment.