While flames spewed within the Public Complex, the Fire Department was responding when they received alert at 4:17 a.m. When Charles Miller learned of the incident, he took action.
“I called everybody I could,” he said.
Cayce Berryman/Foghorn
Emergency responders responded to a call at 4:17 am of a fire on Del Mar College’s West Campus.
Superintendent of physical facilities at Del Mar College, Miller learned of the fire early in the morning and did what he knew to do. The Fire Department arrived to take care of the fire on Del Mar College’s West Campus, but they couldn’t go inside. The cause of the fire is not yet known and is still under investigation.
“They (had to cut into it) so they could blow water in it,” said Kelly White, assistant director of Environmental, Health, Safety and Risk Management at DMC.
Cpt. Mike Tressider, one of the investigators on the case, said insulation was still smoldering. “(The fire) heated the tresses and it pushed that wall out,” he said.
At 10:15 or 10:30 a.m., a structural engineer is supposed to come by to check and make sure the building is safe so authorities can continue the investigation, Miller said.
“We have a great program here, so who knows,” said Chuck McKinny, interim dean of Business Industrial Public Safety Education (BIPSE). “If we lost equipment, we’ll have to replace it. … We’ll adapt.”
