7 People Injured in House Fire in Rolando Neighborhood

Seven people were taken to a hospital with multiple severe injuries after a fire sparked inside a home in the Rolando area Sunday morning, the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said.

Fire officials received a call at around 6 a.m. about a house fire in the 6100 block of Malcolm Drive and reports of five family members trapped inside the home.

SDFD Battalion Chief Mike McBride said once firefighters arrived at the house, they immediately began cutting off window bars until they reached a room where they found people inside.

"One of my firefighters said that a family member reached out through that window and grabbed him by the arm," McBride said.

They were able to get four to five people out from that room. Other firefighters reached the other side of the house where they were able to find another person and were able to get them out.

McBride said they ended up transporting seven family members to a local hospital as a result of smoke inhalation and other injuries.

A total of 7 residents ranging in age from 10 to 78 (5 adults and 2 children) were taken to the hospital as a result of injuries from the #malcolmfire The house is inhabitable. Six residents were rescued by SDFD firefighters. #strongwork pic.twitter.com/rLWy8rkice

— SDFD (@SDFD) January 2, 2022

"It's not a mass casualty, it's a multi-patient incident. It never at any point overwhelm the resources that were at the scene," McBride said.

Fire officials said the seven family members range in ages from 10 to 78 and include five adults and two children.

A second alarm was called to bring in a fresh group of firefighters to help relieve the first group of firefighters. No injuries have been reported among the firefighters.

McBride said the fire did start in the interior part of the house and made its way to the attic space and traveled a majority of the square footage of the home.

"Nothing unusual or suspicious at this time," McBride said. "Our arson investigators are on scene. They're doing their work now to determine if there's any foul play."

McBride said the family members may have suffered life-threatening injuries, due to smoke inhalation and severe burns.

University Avenue will be closed near Cartagena Drive until the investigation is over.

No other information was available.

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