Two San Diego firefighters suffered minor burns to their ears while battling a condo fire in Clairemont Friday.
San Diego Fire-Rescue crews were called to the condo on Balboa Terrace just before 11 a.m.
Two residents, Debbie Valentine and DeeDee Varner, told NBC 7 they heard what sounded like an explosion nearby.
“We thought it was gun shots,” Valentine said, “It was that loud.”
Varner said she heard another explosion as they watched from Valentine’s balcony, three doors down from where the fire started.
“We saw smoke first, then flames started to come,” Valentine said.
Some neighbors ran to the fire with their own home fire extinguishers to try and help, according to Valentine.
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“There were all these little fire extinguishers, but they’re tiny compared to the amount of billowing smoke we saw,” Valentine said.
The fire that started in the garage had spread into the attic space of the unit. Firefighters worked from the roof to knock through the ceiling and extinguish the flames.
The fire was out after approximately 30 minutes, the fire department spokesperson said.
The two injured firefighters were taken to a nearby hospital to be treated but were expected to return to work, the spokesperson said.
No one else was injured.
