Rancho El Dorado house fire is lesson to city

Residents in a Rancho El Dorado home woke up after neighbors discovered a fire in their garage Sunday morning.

Firefighters found a burning couch and mattress in the garage of the rental home located in the 4300 block of W. Bedford Dr., according to Maricopa Battalion Chief Wade Brannon.

Firefighters drag the door from the smoke-filled garage as they extinguish the flames of burning furniture in a Rancho El Dorado rental home Sunday morning.

A firefighter looks down on a charred couch pulled from the fire.

“It was a good thing the neighbors woke the occupants,” Brannon said. “If not, the outcome could have been a whole lot different.”

Brannon said he wasn’t sure if the home’s fire alarms went off.

He said no one was harmed; however, there was minor structural damage, and smoke and flood damage made the house uninhabitable.

He said the community should take a lesson from this and make sure fire alarms are working. He said to test alarms regularly, recommending the beginning of the year and July 4.

A car also received damage from the fire.

The cause of the fire is unknown, and there is no suspicion of arson at this time, according to officials. The incident is still under investigation.

photos by Jane Wazny