Vista
A fire started by a smoldering cigarette left on a living-room recliner caused $205,000 in damage Thursday to seven apartments in the 1400 block of Bonair Road in Vista.
The blaze began about 10:30 a.m. in an apartment without a sprinkler system, the Vista Fire Department said. It took Vista firefighters more than two hours to extinguish the blaze.
“I got out of the shower this morning, and I heard the smoke alarm go off,” said Joe Licata, who lives next door to the burned apartment.
“I ran over to my car and got my fire extinguisher and tried to put out the fire, but the apartment was completely engulfed in flames. No hope,” Licata said. “Flames were coming out of the dining-room window, and the bushes in front caught on fire, the fence was on fire. There wasn’t much that wasn’t on fire.”
Steve Harlan, a fire engineer, was treated for heat exhaustion at a local hospital and released.
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