Lakeside Firefighters Battle Structure Fire in Self-Storage Unit

Winter Gardens: Lakeside Firefighters responded to a reported multi-family residential structure fire at 8810 Winter Gardens Blvd at 38 minutes past midnight on Thursday, March 10, 2011. Units assigned to this incident included Lakeside E1, E2, and Battalion 1; El Cajon E8 and Battalion 3; and, Santee E4, Truck 4, and Medic 4. While enroute, Heartland Fire Dispatch reported to the responding units that the fire was located in the storage units in front of the Mountain View apartments at the given address.

Firefighters stretch hoselines and ladder the building.

Upon arrival, Lakeside E1 had smoke showing from the street and began a 4" supply line from the hydrant in front of the complex. After completion of the supply line, E1 encountered heavy fire coming from an open roll-up style storage unit door. The unit on fire threatened exposures on each side and the second floor above it. A vehicle parked directly in front of the involved unit was also starting to burn. E1 deployed a hoseline to attack the fire while E8 assumed the Incident Command role until Battalion 1 arrived.

Crews from Lakeside, El Cajon and Santee work to control the fire.

All of the first alarm units were utilized in the mitigation of this incident including Battalion 3 as Safety Officer and the Santee Fire units laddering the building and performing ventilation operations. After the fire was extinguished, the unit of origin was thoroughly overhauled while the fire investigator on E2 conducted an investigation into the cause of the fire.

Submitted By: Fire Engineer Carl Chiodo, Lakeside Fire District