Fire Fed by Wood Roofs Destroys Six Apartments

A fire fueled by wood-shake roofing swept through two buildings of a Covina apartment complex Monday night, heavily damaging six units and leaving one firefighter slightly injured.

It took 40 firefighters from Covina and West Covina about 45 minutes to control the blaze, which broke out at 5:30 p.m. at the Casa del Lago apartment complex in the 700 block of East Workman Road.

Covina Fire Battalion Chief Paul Thomsen said the cause of the fire was undetermined but it apparently started in a downstairs apartment and quickly engulfed three other units in the same building.

Flames burned through the building’s roof and spread to the roof of another apartment building, damaging two more apartments. “Anytime you get a fire going with wood-shake roofs, you’ve got a problem,” Thomsen said.

An occupant of the apartment where the fire apparently started said she did not know what caused it.

“The apartment just filled up with smoke, so I grabbed my 5-month-old son and ran out,” said 19-year-old Gina Martin. “The apartment was gone by the time the firemen got there.”

Officials at Casa del Lago apartments said Martin’s family and three others whose units were damaged would be housed in unoccupied apartments within the complex. Two of the damaged units were vacant at the time of the fire.

One firefighter was treated at the scene after embers got into his eyes.

There was no estimate on the damage, Thomsen said.