A BMW owner was inside his car when it caught fire early Thursday at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel near the San Diego Convention Center.
Fire crews arrived around 5 a.m. and found the BMW parked on the fifth level of the parking garage attached to the hotel.
The BMW owner Philip Cox of Pacific Beach said he had had too much to drink the night before and decided the smart thing to do was sleep it off inside his car.
He told NBCSanDiego he was sitting in the driver's seat when he smelled smoke. He immediately stepped out and called out for someone to come by and help.
He could not dial 911 he said because he left his mobile phone in the car.
Crews quickly put out the fire.
“There was quite a bit of heavy smoke,” said Battalion Chief John Fisher.
Local
No injuries were reported.
Cox had owned the black BMW for just five months.
“Thank God for insurance,” Cox said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
