Officials Wednesday were investigating the cause of a New Year’s Eve fire at an abandoned San Diego auto repair shop east of Interstate 805.
The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department received a call at about 8:40 p.m. Tuesday of a structure fire at Morenos Tire and Brake at 3410 University Ave., a boarded-up, fenced-in auto repair shop where homeless people often congregate, the department said.
“When our crews arrived they found heavy smoke coming from the back of the structure,” Battalion Chief John Brubaker said. “The building had actually burned once before, so our crews were familiar with it. Firefighters were initially concerned that there might be people inside, but none were found during a search. The fire was extinguished in about 30 minutes.”
Brubaker said damage estimates to the building and its contents were zero since “the building is slated to be demolished.”
There was no fire damage to any other building, he added.
— City News Service