SAN DIEGO, CA — Crews extinguishing a predawn house fire in a Teralta East-area neighborhood Tuesday found a severely ailing person inside the burning residence, a ramshackle structure officially designated as uninhabitable.
The fire erupted at about 5 a.m. Tuesday in the 4100 block of 43rd Street, south of El Cajon Boulevard and just east of state Route 15, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
It took firefighters about 15 minutes to subdue the flames, the city agency reported. The task was complicated by heavily cluttered, “hoarder style” conditions inside the boarded-up home, SDFRD Capt. Jason Shanley said.
Paramedics took the ailing person to a hospital, where the victim was admitted in critical status. Details about the type of trauma the patient appeared to have suffered were not released.
Health officials had “red tagged” the house as unfit to live in due to its dilapidated condition, the fire captain noted.
The cause of the blaze was under investigation.
— City News Service