Firefighters quickly doused a fire that broke out Saturday morning at the China Pavilion restaurant at 1202 Chapala St. in downtown Santa Barbara.
Firefighters quickly doused a fire that broke out Saturday morning at the China Pavilion restaurant at 1202 Chapala St. in downtown Santa Barbara. Credit: Peter Hartmann / Noozhawk photo

Firefighters quickly doused a fire that broke out Saturday morning at a restaurant in downtown Santa Barbara.

Crews were dispatched shortly before 8 a.m. to the China Pavilion restaurant at 1202 Chapala St., according to fire Battalion Chief Jon Turner of the Santa Barbara City Fire Department.

Upon arrival, they found light smoke coming from the HVAC system on the roof, Turner said, and forced entry to search for the source of the flames.

“They found the source inside the kitchen,” Turner said, declining to provide details pending discussion with the restaurant’s owners.

However, a witness told Noozhawk the source was a pot of food on the stove.

After dousing the flames, firefighters ventilated the smoke from the building, Turner said.

The restaurant was not open and the time, and there were no injuries or damage reported.

— Noozhawk editor in chief Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.