SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A fire of unknown origin gutted an Oak Park home early Wednesday, leaving several large families in need of emergency shelter and causing about $300,000 worth of monetary losses, authorities reported.
A total of 16 people, roughly half of them children, were able to safely vacate the home in the 3200 block of 53rd Street as flames began tearing through it shortly after 4 a.m., according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
Homeowner Dulce Garcia told reporters she and her husband were the first to notice the flames, which apparently began spreading in their living room. The couple then ran through the residence, waking the others, she said.
It took firefighters about 20 minutes to subdue the blaze as a large group of spectators stood nearby, including several adolescent boys who had fled the fire wearing only athletic shorts. At one point, flames were leaping out of the windows of every room in the home.
Emergency crews used an oxygen mask to revive an ailing dog who had escaped the fire along with its owners.
The American Red Cross was called in to help the displaced residents arrange for interim housing.
The blaze caused an estimated $250,000 in structural damage and destroyed contents valued at about $50,000, SDFRD spokeswoman Monica Munoz said.
Investigators ruled the fire an accident but were unable to pin down its cause, Munoz said.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help support the family in need of assistance.