Fire Causes $500,000 Damage to Warehouse in Downtown S.D.

Fire damaged a sprawling brick warehouse in downtown San Diego Thursday afternoon. Officials said workers were remodeling the building at the time, and their construction equipment may have sparked the blaze.

The fire started at about 5:30 p.m. in the Foremost Dairies building at the intersection of 8th Avenue and K Street. Fire officials said about 85 firefighters brought the fire under control in about three hours but would remain on the scene into the night.

The department estimated the damage at $500,000. San Diego Fire Capt. John Hale said the seven people in the building were uninjured, but one firefighter suffered second-degree burns on his hand.

Foremost had recently sold the building and was moving out, Hale said. He said two Foremost employees and five construction workers were inside when the fire started, and that they may have been using blowtorches in the remodeling.

Firefighters initially went in the building to put out the fire, but the fire became so intense, they were ordered out. Hale said flames were leaping 40 feet into the air. By 8 p.m. no flames were visible, but the street was thick with smoke.

The fire did not spread to any adjacent buildings.