Overnight fire in JWA terminal causes $100,000 damage

Firefighters early Thursday quickly extinguished a small blaze in a John Wayne Airport terminal that started during overnight construction, causing about $100,000 in damage, authorities said.

Welding work on a column sparked the fire at about 1:30 a.m. near Gate 7, airport spokeswoman Jenny Wedge said.

Fire sprinklers activated, and firefighters from the Orange County Fire Authority and Newport Beach Fire Department put out the flames within about 10 minutes, according to Fire Authority Capt. Steve Concialdi.

Because the airport was closed at the time, no passengers or flights were affected, Wedge said.

“All was pretty well cleaned up [Thursday] morning by the time the airport opened and passengers began to arrive,” she said.

— Jeremiah Dobruck

Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck