Fire causes $1.5M damage to El Cajon apartments

Firefighters rescued two residents from a fire that caused an estimated $1.5 million in damage to an apartment building in El Cajon on Sunday morning, officials said.

The county sheriff ’s bomb/arson unit was called to assist in the investigation into the cause of the fire, Heartland Fire & Rescue Department officials said.

The blaze, reported about 7:40 a.m., displaced at least five residents and damaged three units at the apartment complex on Chatham Street, just east of state Route 125.

A man who said he lives in a third-floor apartment told OnScene TV he had heard what sounded like a fight in a downstairs unit. “A couple things were getting slammed around,” he said.

He said he saw items thrown out of a window, then noticed smoke. The fire spread and kept him and his roommate’s girlfriend from going through the front door, so they broke a window and stood on an awning to wait for firefighters.

When firefighters arrived, they extended a ladder and rescued the man and the woman. The woman was treated at the scene for minor injuries, Heartland Fire & Rescue spokesman Sonny Saghera said.

Firefighters called for additional crews. It took about a half hour to extinguish the fire, Saghera said.

Five residents from two of the three units that were damaged requested assistance with temporary lodging from the Red Cross. Saghera said the fire caused $1.5 million in damage to the apartments and the contents.