SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Neighbors felt relieved after a fire sparked Tuesday at a North Park home taken over by squatters.
Team 10 senior investigator Jim Avila has been talking to frustrated neighbors for the past six weeks.
They sued the owner, called police and complained about drug and sex trafficking, but nothing worked.
That changed when the fire started inside the abandoned house, sending squatters pouring out the exits. ABC 10News is following through on the neighborhood eyesore that's now boarded up and empty.
“Honestly, I’m so glad this house caught on fire.," North Park resident Andy Laub told 10News. "I’m happy nobody got hurt and none of the adjoining properties were damaged, but I’m happy this happened because you can’t ignore this.”
WATCH: Hear Laub's full candid soundbite as he explains why he's glad the squatter home caught fire.
San Diego Fire-Rescue Department crews were dispatched to 3384 Dale St. just before 6 a.m. after a fire ignited at the one-story house.
Responding firefighters quickly knocked the blaze down and no injuries were immediately reported.
Witnesses told the 10News Breaking News Tracker they saw people running away in a nearby alley after the fire started.
ABC 10News learned San Diego Police and the Metro Arson Strike Team (MAST) are investigating the incident.
The residents who filed the lawsuit said trash has piled up in the backyard to the point where the smell lingers throughout the neighborhood.
WATCH: Team 10 senior investigator Jim Avila has been monitoring the issue — see his report from last week (Aug. 14, 2024):
Following our reporting during the day, a San Diego police watch commander confirmed to 10News that officers detained trespassers at the squatter home Tuesday evening, a little after 7:30 p.m.
Prior to filing the lawsuit, some residents put chains on the fences surrounding the homes to keep the squatters out.
Christi Nail, who lives next door, is one of several neighbors suing the owner of the squatter house, who according to police has refused to cooperate with eviction efforts.
"As we opened the front door, the flames were up over the top of the roof, and it's like 3 feet from my kitchen window," says Nail. "I had to get my teenagers up out of bed before six and grab the dogs and grab whatever we could and leave the house because the fire was that close... And it was a very intense fire."
See video from the scene as firefighters worked to put out the fire:
The squatters could be seen scrambling to get on their bikes and roll down the alley on surveillance video. It's what the neighbors wanted, but not the how.
"So we're very thankful that it's happening now and hope it leads to something permanent," Laub says.
The bar owner across the street was allowed inside the building by the board up contractor and took videos that show the terrible conditions inside.
"Honestly, I should have been wearing a mask because it's that gross in there," Adam Cook says. "I mean, besides the fire damaged portion, just every room in the house had so much drug paraphernalia, trash, bicycle parts... There was like sleeping bags and blankets ,and it's, I mean, it's uninhabitable to you and I. It was just disgusting."
Police and fire investigators say the cause of the blaze is undetermined, and again expressed frustration with the owner not signing the necessary paperwork for eviction.
"We have been addressing this issue with multiple efforts from our police department with different investigative units, mid city patrol," SDPD Lt. Luis Carbajal said.
