A massive fire blasted through downtown Escondido yesterday. It destroyed four condominium buildings that were under construction. Officials are calling it the largest structure fire in Escondido history. KPBS reporter Kenny Goldberg has more.
The fire broke out in one of the condominium buildings just before two in the afternoon. It quickly spread to four other buildings in the complex.
Black smoke and flames filled the skies over downtown Escondido. Dozens of firefighters from throughout the region battled the blaze. Escondido fire Captain Randy Brooks says it was a tough fight.
Brooks: You know, we took some chances here, we got our engine melted a little bit. We got pretty close and tried to make a substantial difference. But once we realized we weren’t gonna save this, we made sure we were out of the collapse soon and we weren’t gonna get hurt.
No injuries were reported. Initial damage estimates were in the $6 million range. Officials say the cause of the fire is unknown. Kenny Goldberg, KPBS News.
