Firefighters battle a raging fire Thursday night in a three-story house near the Santa Barbara Mission. 
Flames pour from a three-story house on Junipero Plaza near the Santa Barbara Mission. 
Firefighters spray water on the vintage structure, which caught fire around 8:25 p.m. 
It took firefighters about two hours to control the blaze. 
All seven Santa Barbara Fire Department fire engines and a ladder truck, as well as three Santa Barbara County fire trucks and a ladder truck, were dispatched to the scene. 
Upper Eastside neighbors thronged surrounding streets to watch the flames.
Firefighters battled a raging fire Thursday night in a three-story house near the Santa Barbara Mission.
Crews were dispatched at about 8:25 p.m. to the 300 block of Junipero Plaza, between Garden and Laguna streets, where they found the historic structure engulfed in flames, according to Santa Barbara Fire Chief Eric Nickel.
A family of five was eating dinner outside when the blaze erupted in the 6,300-square-foot home, Nickel told Noozhawk, adding that the family and their dog were all unharmed.
All seven SBFD fire engines and a ladder truck were dispatched to the fire, which was putting up a large column of smoke as they approached the scene, Nickel said.
Despite an aggressive attack, he said, the fire continued to burn 45 minutes after it broke out, and wasn’t controlled for nearly two hours.
Assisting with the blaze were three engines and a ladder truck from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.
Most of the fire appeared to be on the right side of the house and on the second and third floors, Nickel said.
The Upper Eastside home is a vintage structure, built in 1904, which Nickel said can make battling a fire challenging.
“Typically, houses of this sort have large beam construction, lots of hidden spaces and original plaster walls,” he explained.
(Peter Hartmann / Noozhawk video)
No injuries were reported.
Three investigators were on the scene to search for the cause of the fire.
Nickel said he expected fire crews to remain at the property all night dousing hot spots, doing mop-up work and salvaging the family’s belongings.
Additional details were not immediately available.
Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.