226 Rental Units Destroyed; Man Seen Fleeing Scene : Arson Suspected in $1-Million Storage Blazes

Arson investigators Tuesday were investigating two fires apparently set in a self-storage business, destroying 226 rental units and causing an estimated $1 million in damage to the structure and contents.

A San Diego Fire Department spokeswoman said firefighters responded to Alcatraz Self Storage on Eastgate Mall at 8 p.m. Monday, when a two-alarm fire destroyed six units and caused $300,000 damage. Firefighters said the Monday-night blaze, which was brought under control in about an hour, was arson.

2nd Fire Engulfed Building

A few hours later, at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, firefighters were again called and found the entire building ablaze. The second fire, a three-alarmer that fire officials also called arson, destroyed 200 storage units. According to fire officials, witnesses saw a man running from the scene.

The $1-million damage estimate was said to be the highest in San Diego this year. The second fire continued to burn throughout the day Tuesday as firefighters monitored hot spots and sprayed water on the charred remains of the units and on the goods inside.

Investigators from the Metro Arson Strike Team were unable to enter the building until later Tuesday afternoon and were looking for the cause of the fire.

“But we believe it’s arson,” Fire Department spokeswoman Ida Cheney said.

When firefighters arrived at the second fire, they saw a man running away from the facility in Miramar, toward a canyon. Minutes later, a police officer and police dog tried unsuccessfully to track him, according to a police report.

Guard Tried to Fight Blaze

Cheney said Russell Femyer, a 23-year-old security guard at the facility, tried to put out the first fire but was overcome by smoke. He was treated at Scripps Memorial Hospital and released.

The storage facility, which houses about 1,000 rental units, was besieged with calls Tuesday from anxious customers worried about valuables stored there.

“It’s a zoo over here right now,” manager John Spychaj told a reporter. “The phones are ringing off the hook. I’ve got people standing here wanting to talk to me. I’d like to talk to you, but I can’t afford to tie up the lines.”

Battalion Chief Ken Rice said that a newlywed couple lost all of their belongings and that one man had $100,000 of leather hides stored in an undamaged unit.

Standing outside a chain-link fence and looking at the damage was Pat Harris, a drilling contractor who said he stored some of his possessions in the charred building between moves from a home in University City to one in Encinitas.

“I had all of my college souvenirs, books, scrapbooks, my diploma in there,” he said. “The only fortunate thing about it is that I moved my stereo out of here two weeks ago.”

Harris, like the stream of customers who came into the office Tuesday, was told he could not go back to the building because the arson investigation is in progress.