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Photos: Steve Marcotte / OsideNews

Oceanside CA- Oceanside firefighters battled an early morning blaze at 4914 Verde Drive, in North-East Oceanside this morning. Eighteen firefighters from four Engines, one Truck and one Med Unit with three Chiefs responded to the 911 call that came in at 7:01 AM.

Homeowner, Mel Dittman, said he went outside for a smoke, went back inside to use the bathroom and heard the portable, round radiant heater, click on in the garage. While he was in the bathroom he heard loud popping noises coming from the garage area of the home. He looked out the bathroom window, saw flames shooting through a window in the garage and called 911.

Firefighters had to force entry into the garage and go through the residence to get water on the fire until heat coming from the attic area forced firefighters to take a defensive stance on the blaze. The firewall between the garage and the residence prevented more damage to the living area which suffered mostly smoke and heat damage.
There were no injuries related to the fire but a 17-year-old dog name ‘Spud’ was rescued from the rear of the residence by Firefighter, Chad Cox. Spud, who has difficulty seeing and hearing, was very frightened but otherwise unharmed. Oceanside Fire Inspector, Greg Van Voorhees gave a preliminary estimate of $130,000 in damage to the home. $75,000 structural and $55,000 to contents. It took firefighters approximately 40 minutes to extinguish the blaze. No adjacent residences were damaged in the incident.