Fire sprinklers, smoke alarm saves Fallbrook man's home just a few days before Christmas

What could have been a tragedy a few days before Christmas ended up just being a small nuisance for a Fallbrook man.

On Tuesday, Dec. 21, a homeowner on Markell Lane, who North County Fire (NCF) declined to identify, was attempting to dry two articles of clothing on a chair near a fireplace when the garments caught on fire.

"The smoke alarm alerted him as he was in the bathroom," explained NCF Battalion Chief Stephen Abbott. "[The man] the picked up the chair with the clothes on it and walked them out to the yard." Abbott said the homeowner then located the water shut off valve, shut down the...