Fire Guts Under-Construction Condo Complex

Investigators are trying to determine what sparked a fire that caused $1.5 million worth of damage and destroyed a dozen condominiums under construction in the Midway District of San Diego early Wednesday morning.

The fire, which broke out shortly after midnight required about a fourth of the city's firefighting resources to extinguish it. Firefighters found the buildings engulfed in flames shortly after midnight. They quickly called for help, sounding a second and then a third alarm. The crews had a fire extinguished around 1:15 a.m.

By Wednesday morning, investigators with the Metro Arson Strike Team, as well as FBI investigators, had determined the blaze started on the third floor of a middle unit in the complex and spread to surrounding units, said fire department spokesman Maurice Luque. “They've ruled out any electrical problems or connections, and ruled out any plumbing work” as a cause, Luque said. The first two floors were completed and the third floor was being framed.