Update: Early Fire Damages Apartments

Update, 6 p.m., with new information from fire chief.

A fire at the Coronado Bay Club Apartments displaced one household early Wednesday and caused about $50,000 in damages, according to the fire department.

A resident who lives below the third-floor unit that burned suffered water damage. The apartment where firefighters responded doesn't appear to be a total loss, but has a gaping hole in the roof that is visible from the courtyard and surrounding buildings. 

Workers scurried about the area in the morning, placing debris in plastic bags and laying out large machines to dissipate fumes from the blaze.

Fire Chief Mike Blood said it was the fourth such fire at the complex in four years, and second since the weekend. The cause was determined to be a fireplace, and Blood said each of the fires can be attributed to faulty flues, ducts that allow smoke to be released.

Management voluntarily shut down the fireplaces, Blood said. Residents said the fireplaces are only in the upper units of the three-story buildings.

“They take it seriously and have controlled all of the gas for all of the fireplaces,” the chief said.

Fliers were posted on doors Wednesday morning informing renters that the fireplaces had been disabled, “effective immediately.” The complex's management did not return an email seeking comment.

The fire occurred in the “T” building of the sprawling complex, off 1st Street, according to fire Capt. Bill Toon. Residents had to be evacuated, with the help of Coronado police, Toon said, but no one was injured.

The call for aid came in at 3:06 a.m., he added, and he estimates the fire was under control 30 minutes later.

The earlier emergency at the complex happened Saturday at 10 p.m. in a building on the opposite side from Wednesday's fire. No one was injured in that incident either.

Residents were well aware of the fireplace issue at the complex, which also fronts 2nd Street. They feared giving their names though, because of concerns about retribution from management.

One man fears that debris has backed up in the complex's vents, leaving the buildings susceptible to fires. He has not been using his fireplace because of his concerns. He added that he consistently has to clean blackened debris that flows through vents in his kitchen and backroom.

“It's our lives,” he said. “It's very dangerous.”

Those who watched the firefighters attack the blaze were more comfortable with speaking out about what happened.

“I couldn't see any actual fire, but I could see sparks,” said Chris Gagnon, a resident of an adjacent building, whose dog awakened her when the trouble began.

Kellee Jackson, the resident with the water damage, said the water used to put out the fire flowed through the walls to flood her apartment.

“My patio is pretty thrashed right now,” she said. 

“I feel safe,” Jackson added. “I just hope they take care of everything rapidly.”