 Photo Anthony Ericson/Red-Devil Emergency Photos |
On November 18th Tuesday of 2008 a 3 alarm fire broke out in an unincorporated community of El Cajon . With fifteen engine companies and sixty firefighters the fire was controlled around 5:45 pm on Tuesday evening. There were three out of five occupants at home at the time of the incident the fire completely destroyed the twenty five hundred square foot home.
The fire located at 1223 El Monte Verde Drive just off of Merrit Drive in El Cajon caused major problems in the area for residents , at one point residents were in fear of evacuating when the embers started to spread to the nearby brush causing a quarter acre fire in the open field just to the southern tip of the home.
Also firefighters had a tough time when a partial part of the home collapsed firefighters had to go to strictly exterior attack only, with copters 10 from the San Diego County Sheriffs Department, and both helicopters Copter 1 & 2 from San Diego Fire Life & Safety Department ,circling over head for air cover just in case the fire took a turn for the worst. All three occupants made out of the house with the clothes on their backs. However they had a total loss inside the home, and one male occupant suffered a second degree burn to his hand, but refused to go to the hospital.
The fire is under investigation by San Miguel Consolidated Fire Protection District as well as the El Cajon Fire Department.