Oceanside Family Escapes Early Morning Blaze

 A mother and her teenage daughter were awakened by a smoke alarm and escaped a house fire that cause an estimated $250,000 damage in Oceanside today.

The blaze began about 6:30 a.m. at the single-story house on Valley Crest Drive near Crystal Wood Drive, Oceanside Fire Battalion Chief Peter Lawrence said.

Arriving firefighters saw smoke and large flames coming out of the two- car garage, Lawrence said. Crews worried that the fire would consume the house and spread to neighboring houses and a trailer parked outside.

A woman and her 15-year-old daughter were alerted and ran out of the house, Lawrence said.

"This is a prime example of the value of working smoke detectors," Lawrence said. "Had this family not had a working smoke detector to alert them to the fire, the outcome of this incident could have involved fatalities."

Numerous aerosol cans in the garage exploded during the fire, endangering firefighters. One of the cans narrowly missed one firefighter and dented the side of an arriving ladder truck, he said.

The garage and a 2002 Honda SUV parked inside it were destroyed by the blaze, and the kitchen and dining room sustained moderate fire damage. A travel trailer parked outside was singed and two palm trees burned.

The Red Cross was assisting the family to find temporary housing.

The fire cause an estimated $150,000 damage to the structure and $100,000 to its contents.

— City News Service