Fire protection systems save home, family in Fairbanks Ranch

Officials credited a fire sprinkler and smoke detector with safeguarding a family and their house during an electrical fire in Rancho Santa Fe Thursday, April 30.

Rancho Santa Fe Fire Protection District officials said the sprinkler kept the fire from spreading beyond the garage while the smoke detector alerted the residents to the fire, which broke out at the home on Calle del Cruce, in the gated community of Fairbanks Ranch, about 8 a.m.

The family safely evacuated.

Firefighters quickly put out the flames, limiting the damage to a small area in the garage and two vehicles parked inside, officials said.

Battalion Chief Bret Davidson said the event highlighted the importance of functioning home fire protection systems because the outcome could have been “much different” without the fire sprinkler and smoke detector.

“Without the sprinkler head activating, the fire could easily have destroyed the garage and possibly the entire house,” he said, adding that “had there not been working smoke alarms in the house, the family would have been delayed in evacuating the home, risking smoke inhalation and other potential injuries.”

Investigators determined the fire was accidental and electrical in nature.

-- David Hernandez is a reporter for The San Diego Union-Tribune