25 Evacuated During Apartment Blaze

About 25 tenants were evacuated Wednesday from the third floor of the Hotel Cecil, a converted six-story downtown apartment building, when a fire filled the halls and rooms with smoke.

Nine tenants were treated by paramedics for smoke inhalation at the scene on the 600 block of C Street, but none were seriously injured, said John Liberatore, acting battalion chief for the San Diego Fire Department.

“Smoke was coming up, and you could smell it,” said Gail Goode, a fourth-floor tenant. “The smoke was too thick, so I had to take the fire escape down the back. About four or five people came down with me.”

About 30 firefighters responded to the noontime incident, and residents were allowed back inside within 40 minutes.

Fire Investigator Jerry L. Swartfager said he determined that the fire was caused by a cigarette accidentally coming in contact with drapes and igniting a mattress. Damage was estimated at $2,500, he said.

A resident of the apartment where the fire started had blood around his mouth from an injury he suffered while trying to extinguish the blaze.

“I had a cigarette and burned the room up,” he said.

Third-floor residents said the man had moved into the apartment in the last few days.

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