Towing Issues: towed 5 minutes in fire lane, dmv ca, gov pubs

Question
okay so i wanted to take my wife to dinner and had to drop off the kids so when i arrived at my parents i parked in the fire lane on the property near the parking garage. So my wife and i got the kids ran up stairs dropped them off 5 minutes later as we were walking down a neighbor said hope u don't drive a Cherokee cause it got towed. I can see the tow truck at the end of the street with my truck. and this was around PM at a dead end where there wasn't much traffic flow thought it would be fine, of course i know i was wrong for parking there but what would happen in 5 minutes. so i called western towing here in San Diego. i reported my  car got towed and said they would call my back. after 4 hours of waited the tow yard was 5 minutes away. why did i have to wait 4 hours. so 298 dollars later we went home.but my friend said that someone had to call the towing company to get it towed cause it was on private property in a apt complex. and they cant just tow it, is that true? i also looked at some article's and if i read it right the property owner or someone had to be there, is there a way i can get my money back

Answer
The vehicle can be tow immediately in a fire lane but there are proper procedures that must be followed. Here is the state code for private parking http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc22658.htm San Diego may have other ordinances but a  local police resource officer can help answer that. In most cases, and how the state law is written, an authorized acting agent over the property can request the vehicle to removed, written documentation/authorization must be provided and pictures taken , if required. An acting agent over the property could be an any authorized employee such as the maintenance supervisor. Read over the state statue and find if the towing company or management was in violation.