NEWPORT BEACH (CNS) - A 10-year-old girl was hospitalized today after she fell into a large fire pit at a fathers-daughters gathering at the Newport Beach Dunes, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.
The girl's accidental fall took place about 9:50 a.m. during activities taking place at the Dunes near Back Bay Drive off the Newport Beach coast, OCFA Capt. Steve Concialdi said. She suffered from a range of injuries, including some third-degree burns, with damage to her ribs, hip, wrist and hair when she fell into the pit, Concialdi said.
She was immediately pulled out by one of the fathers at the camp out event. An off-duty Orange County fire fighter, Mike Heddleston, was one of the parents at the Dunes, and he began emergency treatment on the girl by pouring cold water on her burns, Concialdi said.
Newport Beach firefighters and paramedics responded to the scene and transported the girl to Orange County Global Medical Center's burn unit, where she was being kept overnight for treatment and observation, Concialdi added. She should be released from the hospital on Sunday, he said.