Apartment complex burns for second time in two months

Flames rise this morning from the same Sun City apartment complex that was damaged by fire two months ago.

Photos by Mike Mazzuca

By Doug Spoon, Editor

An early-morning fire in the Sun City community today further damaged the same apartment complex that was ravaged by fire on Oct. 6.

Firefighters responded at 3:58 a.m. today to the complex, located on the southeast corner of Cherry Hills Boulevard and Sun City Boulevard, according to a Cal Fire news release. Six units of the single-story building were fully engulfed -- the same blackened units that were virtually empty while crews are performing clean-up from the October fire.

Today's fire was contained at 4:50 a.m., bringing back the same nervous feeling of neighbors in the adjoining units to the east on Cherry Hills Boulevard.

"I was woke up by two ladies knocking on my door, telling me there was a fire -- the same ladies who told me last time," said Mike Mazzuca, who lives a few units to the east.

Workers were still in the process of cleaning up the property damaged two months ago, Mazzuca said. Along with the yellow police tape surrounding the building is a white caution tape, warning people to stay away because of the presence of asbestos.

"The clean-up guys were back today," Mazzuca said. "I asked them, 'What are you going to do now?' They said, 'Start back up again.' The place was broken into a while back. We called 911 but they were gone before police got here. But the thing is, there's nothing there to steal."

A spokesman for Cal Fire said the cause of the fire may take up to two weeks to determine. There has never been an official announcement about the cause of the October fire. Neighbors said they believe that fire started in one of the garages.

No one was injured in today's fire.

The October 6 fire was discovered about 10 p.m. when passersby saw smoke coming from the back of the building. Along with some neighbors, they awoke the residents of the burning building and all were rescued. There were only minor injuries, but residents of all six units were displaced. 

The rear of the building looks much the same as it did following the first fire. 

 The apartments were virtually hollow before the latest fire. All residents were displaced Oct. 6.