OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KGTV) — The Oceanside Fire Department says it is investigating a Wednesday night fire at the Regal Cinema downtown as a possible arson.
According to OFD, firefighters responded to 401 Mission Ave. shortly after 10:20 p.m. after 911 callers reported seeing fire coming from a drainage pipe on the movie theatre's front wall. The press release says the first fire engine on the scene noticed fire coming from the drainage pipe and heavy smoke billowing from the roof.
The first crew sprayed hoses at the fire coming from the pipe, while two more engines that arrived on scene went inside to see if the fire spread further.
OFD says crews managed to contain the fire to the point of origin, and firefighters later found a room on the opposite side of the wall that experienced smoke damage.
"Preliminary findings indicate that a fire had been intentionally started in a plastic drainage pipe on the exterior of the building. Fire worked its way into the building and extended into an interior storage room," the release states.
OFD's fire investigators initially found that this fire was set intentionally, but no suspects have been identified as of 7 a.m. Thursday.
Roughly three hours later, at 1:06 a.m., OFD firefighters responded to another fire at American Tire Depot in downtown. A 911 caller reported smoke coming from the roof of the building at 515 North Coast Highway.
Firefighters kicked through a locked door and pulled fire hoses to the seat of the fire. Another crew, using a ladder truck, cut a hole in the tire shop's roof directly above the fire, which let smoke and heat escape from the building, the press release states.
This made it easier for the crews on the inside to extinguish the fire.
"Shortly after the ladder truck cut the ventilation hole, the Fire Captain on the ladder truck noticed that an HVAC unit was beginning to sag into the roof," the release says. "He alerted the Incident Commander who called for crews to exit the building and re-deploy hose lines from a safer position."
Firefighters managed to contain this fire to the tire shop's lobby and confirmed there was nobody inside the building at the time.
OFD fire investigators determined an electrical wiring failure may have caused the fire in the roof; however, other causes have not yet been ruled out.
"These separate incidents are not believed to be related," OFD wrote in an email to ABC 10News.
