2 INJURED, 11 DISPLACED BY SPRING VALLEY FIRE

February 15, 2010 (Spring Valley) – Two men were injured in an apartment fire yesterday morning in the 9200 block of Kenwood Drive in Spring Valley. One injured his leg after jumping from a second story balcony; the other suffered smoke inhalation. Both were taken to a hospital.

Firefighters from San Miguel arrived and began evacuating residents within 16 minutes of receiving a call about the fire at 9:45 a.m. One unit was damaged and a unit blow sustained water damage.

The Red Cross offered assistance to two families. Eleven people are displaced, including four people from the upstairs unit damaged by fire, as well as a mother and her six children from the first floor unit.

While this fire did not officially go second alarm, it got a second alarm response. Several East County Fire Agencies also responded. The additional teams were in the San Miguel District conducting Sunday morning roof ventilation drills--the same skills applied to help minimize damage to the apartment complex, says Leonard Villareal, public information officer for San Miguel Fire.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. A dollar loss is yet to be determined.