Couple Alerted to Early Morning Fire

Lakeside: On Thursday, April 1st at 4:05 AM, the Heartland Communications Center dispatched four engine companies, a truck company, one ALS ambulance, and a Battalion Chief to the 13500 block of Julian Ave for a report of a "residence filling with smoke". On the arrival of Engine 1 (Riverview Station) they discovered smoke conditions in a rear bedroom area. After further investigation it was discovered that a mattress was pushed up against a wall heater and had ignited the surrounding common combustibles.

With the assistance of Engine 2 (Eucalyptus Hills) the fire was extinguished, and smoke removed from the dwelling, with minimal damage to the home. Fifteen Lakeside firefighters responded to the call assisted by three Santee FD personnel. Operations were coordinated by Battalion Chief Ron Laff.

Engineer Carl Chiodo  finishes extinguishing a mattress once removed from the home. 

The occupants were alerted to the fire by the smell of smoke, not by a functioning smoke detector. Given the time of day, and the potential of this fire, this couple is extremely fortunate. The NFPA recommends a functioning smoke detector in each sleeping area, and in the common hallway. This would be a great opportunity to check the location of your smoke detector, and if you didn't replace the battery recently, please invest the time to replace all of them.

Submitted By: Captain Mark Grow, Lakeside Fire District