Man Injured In East County Hotel Fire

EL CAJON, CA – A man was injured Monday morning when a blaze broke out in his hotel room in El Cajon, authorities said.

The blaze at the two-story Relax Inn & Suites on West Main Street was reported around 5 a.m., Heartland Fire & Rescue spokesman Sonny Saghera said.

Crews arrived within five minutes and found smoke and fire coming from a hotel bedroom on the first floor, Saghera said.

Heartland firefighters, along with crews from San Miguel Fire & Rescue and the Santee Fire Department, began to douse the flames and discovered a man was hanging from a bathroom window, he said.

Crews rescued the man, whose age was not immediately available, and transported him to UC San Diego Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation injuries, which were not believed to be life-threatening, Saghera said.

The flames were knocked down within eight minutes, Saghera said.

Guests and staff in the building were evacuated, but only one unit was damaged, NBC7 reported.
No other injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

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--City News Service