Man dies in Citrus Heights house fire. Why officials say death could have been prevented

Investigators say working smoke detectors might have saved the life of a man who died in a house fire on Christmas Eve in Citrus Heights.

Firefighters were able to quickly put out the fire that started at about 11:45 p.m. Tuesday in a bedroom inside a home on the 6900 block of Brookhaven Way, according to the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District.

It appeared the man fell asleep, when still-smoldering cigarettes started the bedroom on fire, Capt. Chris Vestal said. The home had three smoke alarms that hadn’t been touched by the fire, but none of them worked, Vestal said.

No one else was in the home, and the man’s name wasn’t released.

The fire department urges people to check to make sure their smoke alarms still work and to replace those older than 10 years.

This story was originally published December 25, 2019 at 2:58 PM.