A man kicked in his neighbor's door to rescue pets after fire broke out Tuesday in a Pacific Beach apartment building.
San Diego Fire-Rescue crews were called to Figueroa Boulevard at 9:15 a.m.
The chaos was captured on mobile phone video by Trevor McManus who was just visiting the neighborhood. McManus saw the black smoke and went to warn people.
He said residents went door-to-door, knocking and yelling to neighbors to get out.
They knew one person wasn't home, but had dogs inside so they kicked open the door to let them out.
"It was kinda scary for a second, because it was white smoke then became darker and darker," said neighbor Ashley White. "Then a bunch of neighbors came out of nowhere, pounding on everyone's door and got the dogs out."
The fire department said the fire started in the laundry room. The exact cause is still being investigated.
Shortly after 10 a.m., residents were allowed to go back to their homes.
Local
The apartment building is located west of Interstate 5 and south of Garnet Avenue.
