A 22-year-old man narrowly escaped injury as fire gutted his one-bedroom rental apartment at 2609 Date St. yesterday afternoon.

Carlo Cepeda said he was taking a shower when he smelled smoke.

"I opened the door and there was just smoke and fire," he said.

Cepeda broke through a window at the back of the ground-floor unit to escape.

The fire caused $80,000 in damage to the structure and $15,000 damage to the contents. It also caused an estimated $5,000 damage to two units directly above, fire investigators said. A dog and cat are also believed to have died in the blaze.

Cepeda's roommate, Koleman Pauline, 28, said a faulty electrical outlet in the bedroom caused a small fire just two weeks ago.

VIGIL SUPPORTS CIVIL UNIONS BILL

More than 400 people turned out in the rain at the state Capitol last night for a vigil supporting the civil unions bill.

The bill, which has passed the House and is stalled in the Senate, would give same-sex partners the same rights, benefits and responsibilities as married couples under state law.

Supporters at the vigil passed out flowers and lei, made donations, signed petitions, sang and held candles as speakers called for the bill to be pulled out of the Judiciary and Government Operations Committee, which is deadlocked 3-3, and brought to a floor vote in the Senate.

Supporters said they saw the bill as an issue of economic justice and equal rights under the law for all people.

Thousands of people protested the bill in a mass rally at the Capitol last month.

"We're here because we believe in equality for everybody," said supporter Kim Clissold.