Firefighters and police have extinguished a two-alarm fire on Monday afternoon in unincorporated El Cajon after a man crashed his car into an electrical box at a storage facility.
The fire, at Pepper Drive and Graves Avenue, was reported just before 1:30 p.m. and spread to most of the building. Large flames and plumes of black smoke were seen coming from the roof building and from the car, which is next to the building.
The driver of the car, who would not give his name because he says he’s on parole, said he turned onto Graves Avenue from Pepper Drive when his clutch went out. He ran into the building to avoid a truck waiting to make a turn in the middle of the road.
He hit an electrical box and the car immediately went up in flames.
SDG&E turned off power to the electrical box around 3:30 p.m. and fire crews quickly knocked down the fire. Power is still out in the area and more crews have been called to help. A spokesman for SDG&E said they hope to have power restored by 11 p.m.
The driver said he just bought the car, a late-1990s model Mustang, from a friend two days ago. The car is completely charred. The fire is still burning at the storage facility but the electrical charge is preventing firefighters from dousing the flames.
The driver said he feels fine and has a few tiny scratches on his face. He says the fire department told him, “You’re lucky you got out alive, you should’ve died because of the electrical charge.”
No other injuries have been reported.
