6 Hurt, 1 Held in Duplex Fire

One woman was hospitalized and five other people suffered minor injuries Monday when an early morning fire gutted one unit of a Southeast San Diego duplex, San Diego Fire Department officials reported. A woman whose boyfriend lived in the home was later arrested on suspicion of arson.

Sixteen people, most of them sleeping, were inside the duplex when the fire broke out at about 6 a.m., said arson investigator Bob Neal.

Diane Clark, 30, a resident of the duplex, suffered burns over 28% of her body and was flown by Life Flight helicopter to the UCSD Medical Center burn unit, according to a hospital spokeswoman. She was listed in fair condition.

Three others were taken by paramedics to Paradise Valley Hospital with cuts they received while escaping through a broken window. They were treated and released. Two other residents were treated on the scene for minor cuts and burns.

Patricia J. Tyson, 30, whose boyfriend reportedly was among the residents of the duplex, was arrested. Fire Department Capt. Tom Clark said investigators believe the fire was the result of a dispute between Tyson and her boyfriend.

Tyson was questioned by the Metro Arson Strike Team and booked into the Las Colinas women’s jail.

Fire and smoke were coming out of one unit of the duplex, located in the 400 block of Aurora Street, when firefighters arrived at about 6:20 a.m. The nine occupants of the unit, three of them children, were forced to escape through a rear window, Fire Department spokesman Larry Stewart said. “They went out the back because flames were blocking the front door,” said a firefighter on the scene.

Firefighters were able to contain the flames to the one home. The seven people in the duplex’s other unit were evacuated but were uninjured.

The fire partially collapsed the roof and gutted the home. Damage was estimated at $150,000, plus another $10,000 in smoke damage to the adjoining unit, Stewart said.