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‘Baby’ in burning home was cat

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A woman who told firefighters that her “baby” was trapped in her burning Newport Beach home this weekend was actually referring to her cat, which was not found.

The blaze, which started in a laundry room because of a build-up of lint in a dryer, was reported 7:42 p.m. Saturday when the woman told emergency dispatchers that a child was inside her house, fire officials said.

“The reporting party stated multiple times that her baby was inside the structure,” said Ralph Restadius, a Fire Department operations official who was on the scene. “When firefighters arrived on scene, heavy smoke was seen coming from the second and third floors. Firefighters quickly and aggressively searched the structure while additional units attacked the fire.”

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Later, firefighters learned that the woman had been talking about her cat, he said.

Crews extinguished the fire in 18 minutes. Firefighters searched the home multiple times but found no pets.

Seven fire vehicles with 20 firefighters from Newport Beach Fire Department responded, officials said. The fire caused about $30,000 damage to the structure and $70,000 to the home’s contents.

No one was injured in the fire. Officials said Monday that the woman did not appear to be committing a hoax and that it was simply a miscommunication.

“When that happens we dedicate resources to searching the house and not as many to aggressively attacking the fire,”’said Jennifer Schulz, a Fire Department spokeswoman. “So it is important for us to know that everyone is out safely. We recommend that everyone should have a family escape plan and include pets in that plan. Additionally everyone should have an established meeting place.”

Firefighters say the cat probably escaped the burning house and ran away.

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