[Editor’s note: There was no working smoke detector in the house and the story has been corrected below. An earlier Santa Barbara County Fire Department report was incorrect.]
A fast-moving fire in a single-family home at 4511 Auhay Drive caused extensive damage but no injuries Tuesday afternoon.
Three Santa Barbara County Fire Department engine companies and a ladder truck company were dispatched at 4:32 p.m. to a reported fire at the house, just off Hollister Avenue west of Faith Baptist Church. Smoke was visible from the county dispatch center as well as much of the eastern Goleta Valley, prompting multiple 9-1-1 calls.
County Fire Engine 13 arrived in four minutes and its crew found the residence’s ground floor engulfed in fire, the front windows blown out and flames quickly extending into the attic, authorities said. A fourth county engine and the county Air and Lighting Support Unit was dispatched, along with Santa Barbara City Fire Engine 5.
A primary search indicated that no one was trapped inside and it then took 18 firefighters about 30 minutes to knock down the main body of fire, county fire officials said. One resident was at home at the time the fire began and was uninjured. The family dog is accounted for but two cats are missing.
The family of five was displaced by the blaze and the American Red Cross, Santa Barbara County Chapter is providing assistance.
The cause and origin of the fire is under investigation. Authorities said the home did not have a functioning smoke detector.