The local fire district reported to an Orinda house fire scene in the middle of the night to find the residents had partially extinguished the fire in a downstairs bedroom using a fire extinguisher.
The fire at 1:07 a.m. Saturday was in the 100 block of Claremont Avenue on the hill above Camino Pablo. No injuries were reported.
On arrival, fire crews found the family outside with light smoke coming from the front door. "Firefighters quickly located, contained and extinguished the remaining fire and remained on scene removing the smoke from the interior rooms," wrote Moraga-Orinda Fire District Division Chief Darrell Lee in a news release.
The cause of the fire is under investigation; 19 emergency personnel from MOFD and ConFire responded.
Smoke detectors in the home had recently been removed to change batteries and were never reinstalled. Operational smoke detectors are crucial, Lee said — smoke and deadly gases from a fire can become lethal in three minutes or less.
