Burning popcorn and "pack rat" syndrome is being blamed for a fire that destroyed a unit in an Oceanside townhome Friday night, firefighters said.
The home at 3512 Thunder Drive was so full of stacked paperwork, materials and garbage that when firefighters tried to open the windows from the outside, piles of materials fell out of the window, said Battalion Chief Rob Dunham.
The fire began just before 9 p.m. Friday when the resident was cooking popcorn in a microwave oven that suddenly caught fire for some reason, according to Dunham.
The resident tried to run outside of the unit with the burning popcorn bag in his hand when he tripped and sent burning pieces of popcorn flying onto the stacks of material and household items, Dunham said.
The 38-year-old resident and his 63-year-old mother quickly left the burning condo. The man ran to a nearby Oceanside Fire Station and alerted firefighters.
Battalion Chief Pete Lawrence said that when firefighters first tried to enter the burning unit, they were hampered by the huge flames inside and the "chest high" stacked materials and household goods.
Only one of the units in the three-unit attached townhome complex was destroyed, although another unit suffered water damage. Officials estimated the fire damage at $150,000.
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No one was injured in the incident, but it took firefighters over an hour to contain the fire, officials said. Firefighters stayed on the scene for nearly four hours extinguishing small pockets of fire.
The American Red Cross is assisting the occupants of the damaged residence as well as a neighbor who suffered water damage.
