Fire damages Irvine restaurant

About 30 firefighters quickly doused a blaze above the ceiling of an Irvine restaurant Tuesday morning, authorities said.

By chance, an Orange County Fire Authority crew was on the scene almost immediately when the flames broke out at about 11:20 a.m. at the California Fish Grill near Culver Drive and Barranca Parkway.

“One of our paramedic engines just happened to be in the parking lot, and they noticed some smoke coming from the intersection of Culver and Barranca, and they started driving directly toward the smoke,” Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi said.

The team radioed for help and began evacuating about 20 employees and 30 customers, Concialdi said.

A worker soldering copper pipes on the roof inadvertently started the fire and left the area without noticing, according to the OCFA.

Firefighters found that the flames were in a space between the ceiling and the roof, and a crew climbed on top of the building and punched ventilation holes to help attack the blaze.

They extinguished the fire by 11:45 a.m., Concialdi said. No one was injured.

The flames affected two air conditioning units and part of the roof for a total of $30,000 in damage, he said.

California Fish Grill remains closed. A Panera Bread restaurant next door was shut until about 1 p.m., Concialdi said.

— Jeremiah Dobruck

Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck