San Ysidro
A faulty vent on a clothes dryer caused a fire that sent people scurrying out of a San Ysidro Laundromat with barely enough time to grab their clothes, authorities said Friday.
The fire broke out in the 4400 block of Camino de la Plaza, near the border crossing, at 6:45 p.m. Thursday, San Diego Fire Department Capt. Al Macdonald said. Fifty firefighters arrived at the burning building, which was already spewing flames and black smoke, and controlled the blaze in under an hour.
The fire gutted the Laundromat, crept across an attic and damaged a lingerie store next door, Macdonald said. A fire wall kept it from spreading to other outlet stores in the building.
“We could tell who had been in (the Laundromat) because they were all standing out in the parking lot with their carts full of clothes,” Macdonald said.
The blaze caused an estimated $300,000 damage to the structure and $200,000 to its contents, Macdonald said. No injuries were reported.
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