Milpitas Battalion Chief Scott Brown said the house fire at 1641 Pebble Beach Court was called in at 4:35 p.m.
When flames got outside the structure and were hit with 40 mph winds, the house ``just blew like a blowtorch,'' he said.
Fire retardant roof materials and other building code requirements in effect in the hills may well have prevented the fire from spreading to houses as little as 50 feet away.
``The building requirements really came through,'' Brown said.
The family was away from home for the day, and called 911 when they returned to find the house filled with smoke and the sprinkler system on.
Heavy smoke and fire was pouring from the rear when firefighters arrived. They quickly called a second alarm, and then a third when they grew concerned about the wind.
About 50 firefighters from Milpitas, San Jose, Fremont and the Spring Valley Volunteer Fire Department responded to the blaze, which took three hours to control.
This afternoon, investigators were carefully picking through the partially collapsed home in search of both the origin and cause of the fire, which did not appear to have started outside, Brown said.
The estimated property loss was put at about $2 million. There were no injuries, but the family was assisted by the American Red Cross with food, shelter and clothing.
