Two dozen people are starting the decade off searching for a temporary place to live after a fire sparked at their apartment complex Wednesday afternoon in National City.
A fire chief who was in the area was the first to report it around 3:27 p.m. on 2424 E 8th St. at the Chateau Gardens apartments, near Paradise Valley Hospital.
“We arrived on-scene to find a heavy fire blowing from the building,” National City Fire Battalion Chief Sergio Mora said.
The fire was quickly put out. It started in the electrical room of one of the apartment buildings and crawled up the wall. The flames melted the bank of electric meters for 16 units in the building rendering them uninhabitable and 24 residents were displaced.
Those displaced were given two hours to go into their homes and grab their needed belongings.
Rosario Blasado, a resident of the complex, has lived in the building for 16 years.
Local
"We’ve never experienced anything like this,” Blasado said. “But the owner has been very loving and very helpful."
Blasado said they have been put in a motel near the apartment complex by the property owner.
The American Red Cross of San Diego also helped out the displaced families.
“It’s pretty traumatic and I would say those folks were really resilient and I thought they did well,” Steve Deal Volunteer with the Red Cross said.
The owner of the complex told NBC 7 the repairs could take a week or more to complete.
No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
National City Fire, Chula Vista Fire Department, San Diego Fire-Rescue, and San Diego Gas and Electric responded to the fire.
