A sick day may have saved the home of Oshawa's fire prevention officer Monday afternoon.

Paul Hunt and his wife Donna had not left their Whitby house on Regal Briar Street for more than five minutes when their sick teenager, Katie Lee, called them, said the Oshawa fire prevention officer.

"She's calling saying the smoke detectors are going off and there's smoke in the house," said Mr. Hunt, standing outside his home surrounded by fire trucks.

They told Katie to get out of the house and then called 911.

"(Katie) opened up the garage door and saw flames and closed the door again," Mr. Hunt said.

Firefighters received the call around 1:25 p.m. and knocked out a fire inside the garage within 15 minutes of arrival, said Shawna Coulter, fire prevention officer with Whitby Fire and Emergency Services.

Although it appears the fire was contained to the garage, firefighters won't know for sure if any of the adjourning or interior walls were breached until they investigate further, Ms. Coulter said.

Mr. Hunt had no idea what caused the fire or what the state of the home's interior was and what kind of smoke damage occurred, he said as firefighters packed up their gear.

It's a good thing his daughter was home, he added.

He and his wife were on their way to Mississauga and had just filled up with gas when Katie called them, he said.