More than a dozen residents of a Santa Maria apartment complex were displaced by a fire Sunday. There were no injuries but three of the units were damaged in the blaze.
Just before 10 a.m., Santa Maria firefighters were dispatched to a structure fire in the 900 block of West Morrison Avenue at La Vista, northwest of Santa Maria Fairpark, Battalion Chief Tony Clayburg said.
The occupants had escaped the apartments before firefighters arrived, with Santa Maria police helping evacuate people from one of the 16-unit buildings making up the large complex.
Firefighters arrived to find one unit engulfed in flames, another burning heavily, and the fire extending into other units, prompting an aggressive attack to keep the blaze from spreading further.
In all, three apartment units were damaged, and firefighters remained at the scene for a couple of hours completing mop-up and overhaul chores.
“Those fires can be challenging in that complex due to the construction type,” Clayburg said.
No injuries were reported in the incident.
The fire marshal narrowed down the origin of the fire as starting near an electric oven and stove, Clayburg said, adding that the investigation of the cause was continuing.
He said the American Red Cross Santa Barbara County Chapter was called in to assist 17 residents who were displaced by the fire.
In addition to Santa Maria firefighters, crews from Cal Fire and the Santa Barbara County Fire Department were dispatched to help, including by handling other calls in the city.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.