An accidental fire sparked by an electrical device inside a National City warehouse caused $8 million in damage, making it the second-largest fire in city history, a fire official said this week.
The fire started in an area where several power strips, cords and electrical devices were plugged into outlets, said National City fire Battalion Chief and Fire Investigator Robert Hernandez.
Hernandez said the fire is thought to be the second largest the South County city has seen in recent history, surpassed only by a blaze that ravaged the South Bay Plaza shopping center in the 1970s.
This month’s massive three-alarm fire ignited Aug. 1 at the Western Hose and Gasket warehouse on the corner of West 30th Street and Harding Avenue.
The fire was reported around 11:20 p.m. by drivers on Interstate 5 and state Route 54 who said they saw flames burning through the roof of a building.