Sunnyvale family loses home to fire while vacationing in China

A family of four vacationing in China lost their home in an early morning fire in Sunnyvale Thursday morning.

At about 1 a.m., a neighbor reported a fire at a single-family Eichler-style home in the 700 block of Duncardine Way, said Capt. Jeff Plecque, of the Sunnyvale Public Safety Department.

The neighbor who called in the fire rushed to the home to check on the residents. He said the front door to the family's courtyard was wide open, which was very unusual. He said the family was nowhere to be seen.

Firefighters arrived to find the home engulfed in flames, Plecque said.

There was concern that the residents were inside the home, because there were two cars parked in the driveway, a sedan and an SUV, Plecque said.

Firefighters planned to go into rescue mode, but found it was impractical due to the dangerous conditions and the unlikelihood that anyone trapped inside would still be alive, Plecque said.

He said firefighters switched to a defensive mode and fought the fire from the outside.

Several nearby homes were threatened by the blaze, but were not damaged.

The two-alarm fire was controlled by 2:30 a.m. No injuries were reported.

Throughout the morning, the search for the family and any sign of where they might be was ongoing. It wasn't until around 8 a.m. that fire crews were able to determine that there were no apparent remains found at the site of the fire.

The fire that burned the home created a mystery for firefighters as authorities tried to determine if the mother and father and two children were trapped inside the home during the blaze.

"Currently our fire investigators did a walkthrough of the portions of the house that they can," Sunnyvale Deputy Fire Chief Jim Bouziane. "Through visual inspection, we don't believe anyone was inside the home. In addition to that, preliminary information leads us to believe that at least one male [resident] has been identified -- we need to confirm the name -- and we believe that they're out of the country."

It was later determined that the family of four living at the home was on vacation in China, according to Battalion Chief Vince Chetcuti.

Part of the delay in determining whether anyone was trapped in the home during the fire was the structural instability of the home after the fire due to the extent of the damage. Police and fire crews remained on the scene Thursday morning as the investigation continued.

Plecque said firefighting efforts were hampered by a live electrical wire in the backyard, which he said may or may not have caused the fire.  A damage estimate was not immediately available.  

They were informed about the fire Thursday morning.   

"They were surprised, but happy at the same time that no one was injured," Chetcuti said.

The cars in the driveway were not damaged.

The Mountain View, Santa Clara, and San Jose fire departments assisted.