Fire crews and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were investigating a fire at an assisted living facility in Otay Mesa West Wednesday morning.
A call of a residential fire at 3865 Darwin Avenue near Darwin Place came in around 9:10 a.m., according to San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
Six people were transported to the hospital for smoke inhalation. One individual has since been released. The condition of the remaining five people was not life threatening according to a fire spokesman.
Mimi Elkalla with reporting partner 10News talked to neighbors who knew that wheelchair-bound seniors live in the home and jumped into action when they smelled smoke. They threw rocks through windows of the fiery home and used garden hoses to try to put out the fire.
San Diego MAST (Metro Arson Strike Team), which includes member agents from the ATF, is investigating. a resident of the home reportedly told fire fighters he was smoking a cigarette before the fire began.
(Photo credit 10News)