A smoke detector alerted a family of five living in a Fluvanna County doublewide that caught fire, but not until flames were already present, says Fluvanna Volunteer Fire Chief Mike Brent. The fire broke out sometime before dawn on Tuesday, September 30 in a family room of the home on Shores Road. Although investigators could not pinpoint a source, Brent says, officials believe it was an electrical fire caused either by a cell phone plugged in and charging or by the couch itself, which was heated. All five family members– two adults and three children– escaped unharmed.

Fire officials did not identify the type of detector present; however that fact that it didn’t sound until there were flames suggests that the detector, like 90 percent of detectors in American homes, was an ionization model and therefore didn’t sound while the fire was in the smoldering stage. Brent says he did not check the detector type and suspects it was destroyed in the blaze.

The doublewide has been rendered uninhabitable and is likely a total loss, says Brent, and the residents could not be located for comment at posting time.