Hazardous Chemicals Found At Site Of East County Warehouse Fire

EAST SAN DIEGO COUNTY -- Firefighters discovered laboratory equipment and unknown chemical substances inside a warehouse that caught fire in El Cajon, authorities said Friday morning.

Crews responded about 9:15 p.m. Thursday to a report of a commercial fire in the 900 block of El Cajon Boulevard and, on arrival, discovered a two-story warehouse with smoke coming from the structure, according to Mark Casey of Heartland Fire & Rescue.

Firefighters put out the fire in about 15 minutes, and crews working inside the building identified laboratory equipment and unknown chemical substances, Casey said.

All fire personnel were pulled out of the structure and hazardous materials teams from the San Diego and San Diego County Fire Departments responded to the scene to investigate the chemicals. The San Diego County Sheriff's Department's Bomb Squad arson investigators were called to the location to try to determine the cause of the fire, Casey said.

Shortly after the initial call, firefighters were called to a nearby business to attend to a man who suffered burns possibly related to the warehouse fire. The victim was taken to a hospital in unknown condition, Casey said.

The fire caused approximately $250,000 in damage, he said.

The incident was under investigation.

City News Service contributed to this report.