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December 16, 2010 (El Cajon) -- San Miguel Firefighters laid enough hose to cover the length of seven football fields during the fight to save a home in the Granite Hills neighborhood of El Cajon. The fire was reported at 12:51 Saturday morning on the 800 block of Van Horn Road. As crews responded, witnesses reported seeing flames shoot up about 40 feet into the air. Narrow streets and a very long driveway required Firefighters to lay out about 2000 feet of hose to reach the multi-story, single family structure. Four trucks were needed to pump water to the all wood structure.
Two people were home when the fire broke out. They evacuated the safely using their bedroom balcony. A mild early morning wind carried embers to the west of the structure and ignited grass in a field next to the structure. Those spot fires were quickly put out by hand.
Due to the rapid spread of the fire and the intense heat, the house could not be saved, so San Miguel Firefighters moved into a defense mode to keep the fire from spreading to other nearby homes. It only took minutes for about 70 percent of the structure to collapse. No other structures were damaged. Crews worked into the early morning eliminating all hot spots.
The structure is considered a total loss. In addition several vehicles were damaged; however the family’s two dogs and several of their pet birds were saved. The investigation into the cause of the fire is underway. No dollar loss has been set, but it will be into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. No injuries were reported.
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