A firetruck collides with an SUV on its way to a downtown commercial building fire that damaged several businesses and tied up traffic.
The two-alarm fire tore through a downtown commercial building Friday, ravaging a landmark bookstore and tangling traffic in the busy Core-Columbia district, authorities reported.
On its way to the fire, a firetruck collided with an SUV at the intersection of F and 11th Streets, 10News reported.
The SUV driver apparently didn't see or hear the firetruck coming when he drove his blazer right into its path.
The man did not appear to have life-threatening injuries.
The non-injury blaze erupted shortly before 2:30 p.m. in a back room at Wahrenbrock's Book House, 726 Broadway, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
The proprietor of an adjacent business said a careless smoker evidently sparked the flames in the three-story, 71-year-old shop, renowned for its rare and autographed volumes.
"The guy next door (who) works in the bookstore, he told me that one of the customers (threw) a cigarette in one of the book boxes, and that's what started the fire," hair salon owner Cleo Horn told local media.
It took crews about 20 minutes to subdue the blaze, a dispatcher said.
Police shut down Broadway between Sixth and Ninth avenues, and blocked off Sixth and Seventh avenues between B and E streets. The closures were expected to last into the evening.
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