Fourteen people were displaced Saturday night by a fire at Beach City, the off-campus student housing complex near Santa Barbara City College, according to a spokeswoman for the owner.

Two units in one building at the complex were left uninhabitable, said Delaney Smith of St. George and Associates.

One two-story unit sustained major fire damage, while the adjacent apartment had smoke damage, Smith said. The other four units in the building were not affected, she added.

The fire was caused by an electrical malfunction in the building’s common attic, Santa Barbara City Fire Marshall Ryan DiGuillio told Noozhawk.

Because the building has one continuous attic, it allowed the flames to move through the space, according to Battalion Chief Robert Mercado.

Firefighters cut ventilation holes in the building’s roof, and also broke through the ceiling of the adjacent unit to check for flames, Mercado said.

He added that the apartment where the fire began — an end unit — sustained some water damage on the first floor.

While there are no vacancies in St. George and Associates units, Smith said that all the residents who were displaced were housed in hotels Saturday night.

“We will continue to house them as long as it takes for them to be able to go back home,” she told Noozhawk. “St. George and Associates are committed to tenant safety above all else.”

Santa Barbara City Fire Department personnel were dispatched at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday to the fire on the 800 block of Cliff Drive.

A resident who lives in a building on the other side of the complex said he smelled smoke around 9:20 p.m.

“It was really scary,” said the resident, who identified himself only as Cael.

On Sunday, Santa Barbara City College sent an email to students and posted on its social media offering support to those who were affected by the fire.

“We are devastated to hear the news of the fire that occurred at the Beach City apartment complex on Cliff Drive,” Superintendent/President Erika Endrijonas said in the message.

“If you are an SBCC student who lives at Beach City and you have been affected by the fire and you are in need of temporary emergency housing or emergency financial assistance, please contact Paloma Arnold (arnoldp@sbcc.edu) or Roxane Byrne (rmbyrne@sbcc.edu) or go directly to the Basic Needs Center.”

The college also offered mental health support through student health and wellness.

“We feel deeply for those affected by this house fire, and we are here to help,” Endrijonas added.

As of Monday afternoon, staff at the college’s Basic Needs Center said that they had not heard from anyone impacted by the fire, but are welcoming those who need support.

Noozhawk Executive Editor Tom Bolton contributed to this report.