OCEANSIDE — Local and federal authorities are investigating the possibility that an incendiary device or accelerant was used in a vehicle fire that erupted outside an Oceanside home early Sunday morning, destroying two cars parked in a residential driveway and damaging two others.
The fire broke out around 2 a.m. on July 13 in the driveway of a home in the College Park Estates neighborhood near College Boulevard and Olive Drive, according to Oceanside police.
Oceanside native Rick Felkins, 69, a former plumbing contractor, and his wife, Margo, told The Coast News that they were asleep when they were startled awake by two loud explosions.
“(My wife) smelled smoke immediately. I looked out the front living room window and saw fire between two of our vehicles,” Felkins said. “Seconds later, I was yelling for everyone to wake up.”
Three other family members, including Felkins’ son and two grandchildren, were also inside the home at the time. No injuries were reported.
By the time firefighters arrived, flames had fully engulfed a 2001 Ford F-250 pickup and a 2020 Kia Sorento. Both vehicles were completely destroyed in the fire. Two additional vehicles — the Felkins family’s recently purchased black truck and their son’s Toyota pickup parked at the curb — sustained heat damage, including melted paint and plastic door handles.
At one point, Felkins said the couple asked firefighters if they could move one of the nearby vehicles away from the burning truck, just seconds before the front tire of the engulfed Kia exploded, sending molten debris flying across the driveway.
Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, preventing it from spreading to the house or garage, which contained other recreational vehicles.
Felkins said the fire appeared to have originated between the two vehicles and noted an orange-rusted discoloration on the ground, which investigators told him could indicate that an accelerant had been used.
“They told us they couldn’t say definitively whether it was arson,” Felkins said. “But based on where the fire started, it didn’t look like it came from either car.”
Oceanside police stated that the incident remains under investigation and declined to comment on whether an explosive or accelerant has been identified as the source or cause of the fire.
“This incident is currently part of an ongoing investigation,” police spokesperson Gina Avalos said. “Detectives were out at the scene today, canvassing the area and continuing their investigative work.”
On Thursday morning, an Oceanside fire investigator and an ATF agent returned to collect samples from around and beneath the vehicles for lab testing, according to Felkins.
Felkins, a graduate of Carlsbad High School, said both vehicles had been stationary for several days, and neither had any known mechanical issues. The Ford truck, in particular, was in “pristine condition,” he said.
Felkins said there were no known disputes with neighbors or family that might explain the incident.
However, he noted that the family has long displayed conservative campaign yard signs, political flags and bumper stickers, including a “Trump 2024” flag and a sticker on the destroyed Kia that reads, “I identify as a Tesla.”
“We’ve been very visible about our beliefs,” Felkins said. “We’ve had flags torn down before elections, eggs thrown at the house. But nothing like this. If the vehicles gas tanks had gone up, we might have lost the house. I don’t think this was random. I don’t know what it was — but it sure looked intentional.”
Felkins said there were no other political signs in the area and described his neighbors as friendly, kind and respectful. He said he doesn’t believe the fire was connected to anyone in the neighborhood.
“We love our neighbors. We’ve never had any conflicts,” he said. “We just happen to live on a visible corner, and once in a while, people driving by shout things like, ‘F— Trump.’”
Felkins said police asked whether any friends or relatives might have a motive, but he couldn’t think of anyone.
“We have no idea who would do something like this,” he said.
The Felkins are currently offering a $2,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest and conviction. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Oceanside Police Department.
