Carmel Valley house fire caused by space heater malfunction

By City News Service

A space heater malfunction was blamed for a house fire that destroyed much of a house and displaced a family of five in Carmel Valley Feb. 26.

The blaze began about 3:15 a.m. in a bedroom of a two-story house on Capstone Drive near Grayson Drive, a few blocks away from Torrey Pines High

School, a San Diego Fire-Rescue dispatcher said.

Firefighters extinguished the flames in about 30 minutes.

The fire cause an estimated $300,000 in damage, $200,000 to the structure and $100,000 to its contents, the dispatcher said.

The family, two adults and three children, was not injured, she said.

Fire investigators determined that the fire was ignited by a space heater.