Police and fire chiefs, local politicians have smashing time at OC Fair

The last two nights, police and fire chiefs from throughout Orange County threw the caution they typically counsel to the wind and put the pedal to the metal.

They crashed and bashed into each other demolition derby style. At stake were bragging rights, but more importantly, the care and treatment of children in Orange County with illnesses.

Motorhome Madness, pitting the chiefs against each other in old RVs, has been a popular night at the OC Fair for many years. The two-night event, which raises money for the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, is part of a week of demolition derby events at the fair that continues tonight, Aug. 1, with the Orange Crush competition and also features the Damsels of Destruction on Saturday, Aug. 2, raising money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The shows are brought to the fair by longtime organizers Sunnyside Promotions Racing.

Police chiefs participating during the two nights include Rick Armendariz of Anaheim, Jeff Calvert of Laguna Beach, Rodney Cox of Fountain Valley, Sean deMetropolis of Orange, Joyce LaPointe of Costa Mesa and Jon Radus of Fullerton. OC Sheriff Don Barnes also drove.

Fire chiefs participating include Jeff Boyles of Newport Beach, Niko King of Laguna Beach, Adam Loeser of Fullerton, Eric McCoy of Huntington Beach and Dan Stefano of Costa Mesa.

Wednesday night, Boyles survived the longest with an operating motorhome, second place was deMetropolis and third was Barnes. Thursday night’s event finished after this newspaper’s deadline.

In recent years, local mayors and councilmembers have also ditched diplomacy to participate in the derby, driving and smashing cars in a Figure 8 show. Participating this year were Newport Beach councilmembers Noah Blom, Erik Weigand and Sara Weber and Mayor Joe Stapleton, Costa Mesa Mayor John Stephens and Laguna Beach Mayor Alex Rounaghi. Also driving cars were various members of local fire and police departments.

Many of the sacrificed motorhomes are donated by Southside Towing, which collects the vehicles throughout the year and then guts them and adds roll bars and other safety features. Dave Padua, owner of the Costa Mesa-based company, helped get the event started years ago.

His son, now 21, was having neck issues when he was a young child and ended up at CHOC for testing. It was a stressful time for the parents, but the staff kept his son comfortable and cared for, Padua said.

“How they comfort you, they are really good people,” he said. “You have to do something for CHOC.”

So years later, when the derby event was underway, CHOC was a natural beneficiary.

In the runup to the demolition derby, the chiefs visit CHOC and the children, getting inspired to smash and bash, Padua said.

The participants also hyped the fundraising effort on social media and around their towns.

Newport Beach Mayor Stapleton, who was using an old BMW that had been retrofitted and painted in patriotic red, white and blue, posted his entry at the nearby Sterling BMW to raise awareness.

Anaheim Police Chief Armendariz took to Instagram to introduce residents to the newest member of the department’s fleet, a motorhome dubbed 26K, now part of “our dent squad,” he said before getting to the real point of asking folks to support the fundraiser.

“From cutting-edge treatments to compassionate care, CHOC is a place where hope and healing come together,” said Armendariz, whose entry won Best Appearing RV Wednesday night. “Every dollar raised will help support vital medical services, programs and research that make a real difference to the lives of kids throughout our community.”

Nearly $30,000 has been raised, according to the fundraiser website, raiseup.choc.org/derby.

Find out more about the OC Fair, its demolition derby week and other shows at ocfair.com.