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Crime & Safety

Minor Injuries Reported as Fire Damages Shores Unit

A fire in the La Sierra Tower drew firefighters from Coronado and four other departments.

UPDATE, 3:30 PM: Coronado fire officials said the accidental fire originated in a living room couch and caused $200,000 in damages to one unit in the 15-story building. Four people were treated at the scene for minor injuries.

 

A fire broke out in an apartment on the sixth floor of the La Sierra Tower in the Coronado Shores.

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There were no serious injuries, according to Cmdr. Jesus Ochoa of the Coronado Police Department.

Ochoa said the fire is suspected to have begun in the kitchen, but the cause is under investigation. An elderly woman suffered minor burns and others people complained of smoke inhalation.

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All were treated at the scene, Ochoa said, but the burn victim was seeking medical attention on her own.

The call came in at 10:13 a.m. Crews from Coronado, National City, Chula Vista and San Diego, as well as a truck from the Federal Fire Service responded to the call. 

Three floors in the building were evacuated, the floor where the fire occurred and one floor above and below. The building does not have sprinklers.

“It’s an old building and they were not required at the time,” Ochoa said.

Maddie Ford had just finished a morning of surfing when the fire broke out. She and her parents live on the sixth floor by the damaged unit.

“I was in the hot tub when I smelled the smoke,” she said. “I looked up. There were orange flames and a lot of black smoke.”

Like other residents, she was stuck outside, unable to get into her building until crews cleared out the scene. “I’m out here in my skivvies, with no way to get back in,” she said.

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