Fire breaks out in North Park home

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — San Diego Fire-Rescue crews are responding to a structure fire that broke out at a North Park home early Tuesday morning.

The fire was reported just before 6 a.m. in the area of 2923 Upas Street, according to SDFD. Shortly after flames broke out, video from the SDCCU.com North Park camera picked up what appeared to be some kind of an explosion.

“There was a lot of fire, a lot of smoke when we first pulled up, which is usually typical in a good fire, and then there was some kind of explosion,” Battalion Chief Josh Slatinsky told FOX 5/KUSI, adding that fire crews suspected the blast was a firework.

According to Slatinsky, the four engines and 27 personnel who responded to the scene were able to knock down the body of the fire quickly with “an aggressive fire attack.”

“As soon as [SDFD crews] got here, it calmed down really, really fast,” a North Park resident who witnessed the fire break out told FOX 5/KUSI.

As of 7 a.m., SDFD crews had gone into the home to do overhaul, extinguishing any hot spots.

A number of people were reportedly inside the home when the fire broke out, although they appeared to have left the premises before SDFD crews arrived. No injuries were reported.

“There were people on camera that were seen leaving the rear of the structure — about five to six of them,” Slatinsky said. “It is unknown if they were renters or squatters.”

Whether there was significant property loss with the fire has not been determined at this time. SkyFOX/KUSI in the Sky was over the scene around 6:30 a.m., where damage could be seen to the roof and near the rear of the single-story building.

Two small bungalows behind the single-family home were also threatened by the fire, but Slatinsky said the flames did not transfer to the interior of either building.

A cause has not been determined at this time. Slatinsky said SDFD’s Metro Arson Strike Team will be on scene to conduct an investigation and determine the origin of the fire.

City officials will also be working to get in touch with the owner of the property, he added.

According to Slatinsky, the department has seen an uptick in the number of apparently abandoned building fires its crews have responded to since the beginning of the year.

“We’ve been going to a lot of these abandoned structures lately,” he continued. “They’re being more prevalent, but its something we’re trying to deal with the city.”

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