SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department responded to a non-injury fire that broke out at a UPS distribution center early Friday morning after one of the trucks inside of the building caught fire during the peak holiday season.
The incident happened around 4:30 a.m. in the 7900 block of Ronson Road in Kearny Mesa, and firefighters knocked out the flames at 4:52 a.m., according to San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
According to fire officials, employees of the distribution center were forced to evacuate.
It’s unclear what caused the fire, but an employee told CBS 8 that he could see and smell smoke from the back of a truck on the property.
"I know that it was on the back of one of our pins that were pretty close to mine...to be honest with you, I don't know the damage, but it smelled close," he said.
UPS confirmed Friday in a statement that the fire started inside one of their delivery vehicles and that vehicle and its 150 packages were lost.
A spokesperson for UPS released the following statement Friday:
“We are thankful all our employees are safe. The cause of the fire is under investigation, and we respectfully defer questions about the incident to the investigating authorities. We can confirm a fire started inside one of our delivery vehicles, and unfortunately, the vehicle and its 150 packages were lost. This was an isolated incident, no other property or packages were damaged, and all other shipments from this distribution center will be delivered as scheduled. We are contacting the affected customers, but if customers have concerns about their deliveries, they can track their packages and get status updates on UPS.com or the UPS My Choice mobile app.”
There were about 300 additional trucks inside the building, but the fire was contained to the truck where the fire started, according to the SDFD.
The sprinkler system inside was activated, and all occupants evacuated the building before crews arrived, according to the SDFD.
No injuries were reported, but firefighters were performing air monitoring to ensure the quality was acceptable for employees to return to work, according to fire officials.
Extensive water and smoke removal were also needed along with overhaul, according to the SDFD.
The SDFD's Metro Arson Strike Team was investigating the cause of the fire, but the fire did not seem suspicious, according to fire officials.
UPS said if customers have concerns about their deliveries, they can track their packages and get status updates on UPS.com or the UPS My Choice mobile app.