A small fire on the upper levels of a UC San Diego (UCSD) apartment building that left one victim badly burned was intentionally started, officials confirm to NBC 7 San Diego.
The fire broke out at approximately 1:30 p.m. at the dorm, located between Pangea Drive and Northpoint Drive on Scholars Drive North on the UCSD campus, SDFD Battalion Chief Jeff Mitchell says.
Mitchell says more than 70 firefighters responded to the report of a fire on a campus building; they arrived on scene to find smoke coming from the 11th floor.
The small fire was started by flammable liquids and was isolated to the student's room on the ninth floor, Mitchell says. Crews quickly put out the fire.
The flames left one woman badly burned, though her current condition is unknown. She was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Jesse Edelman lives in the 12th floor, right above the fire and says her floor was evacuated. "Our level was evacuated too. It set off the alarms in 12 as well,” Edelman tells NBC 7.
Joshua Escobar lives on the 13th floor and says he heard the alarms go off but on another floor. He even thought they were going off in another building.
"It wasn't until all the fire trucks started coming that I thought something might be up and then I started smelling smoke. When I looked out the window, it looked like it was coming from right below us,” Escobar says.
NBC 7 spoke with UCSD, and they say the fire alarms only go off in the immediate area of the fire. They only went off on and around the 11th floor and it's a case by case basis whether all the students are evacuated. Escobar hopes new rules will be put in place.
"We didn't know we needed to evacuate until we saw a post on Facebook from a resident assistant. At that time we obviously left the building,” Escobar says. "You know, it puts our safety at risk."
It is unclear how the fire started, Mitchell says, though investigators believe the victim - the single resident inside the unit - intentionally set the fire.
The building was evacuated as crews fought the fire, but students, mostly upperclassmen students, were let in shortly after. Authorities could not elaborate on why they think the fire was intentionally set.
"It was a small fire, not a whole lot of smoke damage to the unit or the floor so we were able to get residents back into the building quickly," Mitchell says.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The investigation is ongoing.
No other information was immediately available.
Check back for updates on this breaking news story.
