A number of renters have been displaced in a house fire determined by SDFD to be arson.
Fire crews responded just after 6 p.m. Thursday evening to a single-family home near San Diego State University. The fire was extinguished by 6:23 p.m., but the house has extensive damage.
According to one of the tenants the landlord was facing code violations and was not supposed to be renting to the tenants.
"We have no where to go," tenant Loyda Navarro told NBC7."She called me. she said, Mom, smoke, I smell it," Navarro said of her daughter. "She started coughing. I said get out. She said I'm already out. That was my main concern - that she was safe."
According to Navarro the violations include wiring, renting trailers on the property, salvation issues, plumbing issues, no smoke alarms and holes in the walls.
"The property was not adequate for us to all be living in," Navarro explained. "There's a lot of people who live here through impact programs who are disabled mentally...Some of them are senior citizens."
Approximately 11 renters live in the building. Officials said everyone got out safely.
Local
"There's definitely not going to be anyone living in the residence for a few days. They're going to need Red Cross to help them out with some living arrangements," Captain Chuck Adams with San Diego Fire Rescue said. "There's pretty much damage to the entire house."
The damage is estimated at approximately $150,000 to the house and $50,000 to the contents.
The scene has been turned over to the police.
