Fire damage inside a two-story building is hampering the investigation into what caused the fire that tore through a strip club's administrative offices and a video store in the Midway area Sunday night.
Crews brought in a crane Monday morning to help clear the debris left behind by what started as an attic fire at the corner of Rosecrans and Midway.
When fire crews arrived around 9:30 p.m. Sunday, smoke was pouring from the building. That quickly developed into a fire that was so dangerous, crews had to be pulled out from fighting the flames inside.
“Flames and smoke were so heavy we needed to pull them back,” said Lee Swanson, spokesperson San Diego Fire Rescue.
At one point firefighters had three ladder trucks throwing water on it, trying to drown the fire according to Swanson.
The ceiling fell in on the first floor business. Other than the ceiling, the video store suffered only water damage.
Fire investigators are looking into what started the fire. ATF investigators were on scene as protocol for a fire of this size, according to Swanson. City inspectors said the building is not sound even for inspectors.
Local
The building houses Deja Vu Showgirls headquarters and Blowout Video. No one was injured in the fire. There were a few people inside the first floor of the building when the fire started but they got out safely.
The owner of the video store left the building around 8:30 p.m. and the fire started around 9:30 p.m. All investigators know is that there was no one in the building at the time the fire started.
