Two dogs suffered smoke-related injuries Thursday afternoon in a fire at a residential cottage on the 300 block of Anacapa Street, according to the Santa Barbara City Fire Department.
A nearby business reported the fire, and upon arrival responding crews found smoke coming from the single-story building, said Amber Anderson, a City Fire Department spokeswoman.
Crews arrived around 3:30 p.m. and quickly knocked down the flames.
No residents were home at the time, but two small dogs were significantly affected by the smoke, Anderson said.
Firefighters took the dogs to a Santa Barbara emergency animal hospital.
No other injuries were reported.
City Fire investigator Ryan DiGuilio responded to the scene and told Noozhawk the cause of the fire appeared to be accidental.
Santa Barbara police officers also responded to the scene to conduct traffic control in the area.
Emilio Reséndiz, owner of Champs Barber Shop adjacent to the cottage, said he and his friend, Alex Guerrero, were alerted to the blaze and ran next door with fire extinguishers.
“Me and my friend went there to see what was going on, and we took the fire extinguishers and kicked the door,” he said. “There was a lot of smoke that came into our faces.”
Reséndiz said they were able, with the assistance of other neighbors who were using a garden hose on the back side, to mostly knock down the flames prior to the arrival of firefighters, .
Noozhawk Executive Editor Tom Bolton reported from the scene.
— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.