VIDEO: A commercial building in National City went up in flames early Thursday morning, sending plumes of black smoke into the sky.
The incident began around 4:45 a.m. in the area East 3rd Street and National City Boulevard, with fire units from National City, San Diego, Chula Vista, and Coronado responding to the scene.
Crews arrived to find heavy flames in the rear of the structure, with fire extending through the roof of the building. Firefighters began suppression efforts while conducting primary searchers of unaffected areas. Officials confirmed the building was vacant at the time, and no occupants were found inside. National City Battalion Chief James Stiles said crews noticed separation in the building’s walls, which prompted him to call firefighters back.
“Luckily, having those aerial water towers, we were still able to get good water on it and prevent it from collapsing,” he told FOX 5/KUSI. The fire was brought under control around 6 a.m., and no injuries were reported.
The battalion chief also mentioned that crews have been called to the same building multiple times in the last six months.
“We know it’s kind of a problem. It’s slated for a big demo/big construction project that’s kind of stalled right now,” Stiles continued. “Unfortunately, it’s kind of got an unhoused population living in it and we’ve had multiple fire calls here, so we kind of had an idea of what we were getting into.”
