1 Dog Killed, Another Rescued in Clairemont Fire

The house fire caused an estimated $400,000 in damage

Fire tore through a Clairemont home Saturday, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and killing one of the family’s beloved dogs.

“It’s just really sad this time of year for this to happen,” said Sherrie Dubreuil, whose elderly parents and brother live at the home in the 3600 block of Mount Acadia Boulevard.

The two-alarm fire sparked just before noon. Firefighters initially treated it as a rescue operation.

“The son who was living here didn’t realize his parents weren’t home, which is fortunate because they actually weren’t here and weren’t lost as was expected,” said Battalion Chief Matt Nilsen with San Diego Fire-Rescue.

A firefighter fell partially through the roof, but other crew members pulled him out before falling any further, Nilsen said. He was taken to the UCSD Burn Center with second-degree burns to his hip, according to fire officials.

Firefighters saved one of the family’s two dogs with the help of a “Fido” oxygen mask. The other dog did not make it.

“We lost our pit bull in the backyard. The fire caught him on fire, and they euthanized him,” Dubreuil said.

Dubreuil says she was grocery shopping with her 90-year-old mother at the time and returned home to the devastation. The fire caused an estimated $300,000 in damage to the home and $100,000 to its contents, according to the fire department.

Investigators say the fire was caused by an accidental electrical problem.

Flames spread to the neighbor’s bushes, but firefighters stopped the fire before spreading to the house.

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