Blaze hits Midway District complex
Wednesday, May 23, 2007 0941 PDT

SAN DIEGO - Investigators are trying to determine what sparked a fire that
caused $1,500,000 in damage and destroyed 12 condominiums under construction
in the Midway District of Point Loma this morning.

The fire was reported just after midnight at the complex on Kemper and
Kenyon Streets called "At the Bay", 1 block west of fire station 20.

First arriving firefighters found the buildings engulfed in flames.

They quickly requested a second -- and then a third -- alarm.

The fire was extinguished at 0115.

Investigators with the Metro Arson Strike Team (MAST) have determined the
blaze started on the third floor of a middle unit in the complex and spread
to surrounding units.

MAST has eliminated any electrical problems or connections, and ruled out
any plumbing work as a cause.

The first two floors were completed and the third floor was being framed.

Damage to the buildings under construction was estimated at $1.000,000.

Fire and heat damage to the exteriors of some completed units north of the
fire and a nearby medical center accounted for about $500,000 worth of
damage.

No injuries were reported.

Three ladder trucks, each pouring water at a rate of 1,000 to 1,500 gallons
a minute, set up on the perimeter of the blaze with "water curtains" in a
technique called "surround-and-drown" to keep it from growing and spreading.

80 firefighters responded with 12 engines and 6 trucks, about 1/4 of the
city's 46 engine companies.