Fire victim escapes scathed

Newport Beach man taken to trauma center after blaze destroys his home. Cause is believed to have been an electrical cord. A Newport Beach man was injured when he escaped a fire that destroyed his home late Friday.

Fire investigators believe an electrical cord underneath a carpet started the fire at 8:30 p.m. at a single-story home in the 300 block of Meadow Lane in Newport Beach.

The man, whom neighbors identified as George Stearns, was taken to a local trauma center, fire officials said.

His condition could not be confirmed as of late Saturday.

Neighbors said Stearns walked out of the home on his own, but appeared visibly distraught.

“He was standing out front when the engine company drove up,” said neighbor Greg Larson. “He walked out of the driveway and appeared to be dazed.”

Larson said he and another neighbor covered Stearns with a blanket. Stearns was “blackened” and his hair was singed, Larson said.

“He walked out ... I think he was obviously in shock ... seeing your house go up in flames,” said neighbor Bobbi Wilson.

Stearns is in his 70s and lived alone in the house, Larson said.

The first firefighters on the scene saw heavy smoke and flames coming from the front of the house. The fire, believed to have started in a home office, was fully involved and had extended throughout the home, said Newport Beach Fire Spokeswoman Jennifer Schulz.

Next-door neighbor Sadie Kelly didn’t know about the fire until she heard the sirens. Kelly’s roof is just a few feet away from her neighbor’s, and she feared the fire might jump to her home.

“I was just standing there praying,” Kelly said.

By the time neighbors were out of their homes, the flames were shooting 10 feet high and had burned the trees behind the house, Larson said.

“They were working pretty hard on it, but it was going pretty strong,” Larson said.

Thirty-three firefighters from both Newport Beach and Costa Mesa protected neighboring homes and contained the fire within an hour. Salvage efforts and investigation continued throughout the night.

The fire caused an estimated $575,000 in damage, Schulz said.