Fire Kills Two in Del Mar Heights

A fire that killed a woman and her teen-age daughter and destroyed a single-story house remained unexplained late Sunday as arson investigators poked through the cinders in a quiet Del Mar Heights neighborhood.

Members of the San Diego Metro Arson Strike Team said they had not determined the cause of the Saturday night blaze in the 13000 block of Mango Drive, where the remains of Dawn Ellermann, 42, and her daughter Erin, 13, were pulled from the rubble.

The bodies, which were burned beyond recognition, were positively identified through dental records, deputy county coroners reported. The cause of death will remain unclear until the results of blood tests expected today, they said.

“Right now, it is still under investigation,” said Jeff Carle of the strike team. “We have a whole lot of stuff going on. I’m not allowed to say diddly.”

Fire officials and neighbors said the blaze apparently started about 9:45 p.m. in the master bedroom at the rear of the wood and stucco house. Firefighters arriving 15 minutes later were “totally amazed” by the extent of the blaze, a department spokesman said.

It took the department about 30 minutes to control the fire, the spokesman said. Only when they later found the bodies did they realize there had been anyone in the house.

Deputy Coroner Charles Kelly said autopsies would be performed on two dogs found dead in the bathroom to determine whether the fire produced carbon monoxide that might have affected Mrs. Ellermann and her daughter.

According to neighbors, the Ellermanns had lived in the house for about five years, and Erin attended Earl Warren Junior High School. They said she had been out baby-sitting Saturday night and was believed to have returned home about 9:30 p.m.

Neighbors who first noticed smoke and sparks opened the front door and broke windows in an attempt to find out if anyone was trapped. But they were thwarted by thick smoke in the front hall and managed only to free a cat from the garage.

Neighbors said they had heard that the body of Mrs. Ellermann was found near the telephone, with a container of mascara in one hand. But Jim Smidt of the Metro Arson Strike Team said he did not know where the bodies were discovered.

The interior, back walls and back roof of the house were destroyed, with damage to the structure put at $150,000 and damage to the contents at $40,000. The front of the house remained standing Sunday, with a charred fold-out sofa sitting on the front lawn.

The coroner’s office said Erin is survived by her father, Norman, of Palm Springs. Mrs. Ellermann is survived by her mother in La Jolla.