Several residents were forced out of their homes and one person was hospitalized early Wednesday following a fire at a pedicab warehouse, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD).
The blaze was reported just before 4:30 a.m. at an alley on the 1400 block of Market Street. There, flames burned quickly due to lithium batteries in the warehouse and prompted officials to evacuate the neighboring Potiker Senior Residents complex, SDFD Battalion Chief Chris Babler said.
The warehouse was closed at the time and appears to have been destroyed.
Meanwhile, the senior housing complex sustained exterior damage in the fire. Most residents have since been given the all-clear to return to their homes.
As a precaution, crews took readings in the air at the senior housing complex due to the fumes from the lithium ion batteries that burned. Although the readings were "well below limits for safety," according to SDFD, 20 residents in the building who reside closest to where the fire was have been relocated.
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It is unclear what started the blaze.
