Oceanside CA— On Tuesaday, February 4, 2020, the Oceanside Fire Department was dispatched to a structure fire at 309 Los Arbolitos Blvd. While enroute, responders saw a large column of smoke and additional resources were added.

The first engine arrived four minutes after dispatch and found a well-established fire in a detached garage. There were eight single car garages filled with mainly personal items. Fire attack lines were deployed and the incident was declared under control 30 minutes after dispatch.

Since this was a long narrow building with a common attic, the ladder truck performed a “strip cut.” This is a defensive strategy to protect portions of a building that are beyond the area of a hole. This tactic allowed fire attack personnel to more quickly extinguish the fire, which limited the majority of fire damage to two of the garages. There was smoke damage throughout the building.
No civilians or firefighters were injured in this incident. No resident was displaced and nearby residential occupancies were habitable immediately after the fire.
Preliminary indications are that a cigarette may be the cause of this fire with the origin inside of an end garage unit. A fire investigator performed origin and cause analysis and a final determination is still pending.