Family displaced by two-alarm house fire

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

A two-alarm fire ravaged a home in Santa Barbara on Tuesday afternoon, displacing a family of five and causing extensive damage.
Firefighters arrived at 4511 Auhay Drive to find a quickly moving fire on the ground floor that had blasted out the front windows and started spreading into the attic of the single-story home, County Fire Capt. Eli Iskow said.

“A primary search indicated that no residents were trapped inside and it then took 18 firefighters about 30 minutes to knock down the main body of fire,” he said. “One resident was at home at the time the fire began and was uninjured.”
Although the family dog is safe, two cats are missing, Capt. Iskow said. American Red Cross is assisting the family as well as several affected neighbors.
“Damage to the structure and its contents is extensive and the dollar-loss value will be high,” Capt. Iskow said. “The cause and origin of the fire is under investigation.”
Local resident Diana Replogle said she drove by the blaze several minutes after the initial wave of firefighters arrived on the scene.
“There was a huge pillar of smoke that you could see from some distance away,” she said.
Flames were visible from Hollister Avenue and as she drove away from the area she spotted numerous emergency vehicles heading to the fire.
“They were coming from all directions,” Replogle said.
Fire crews arrived on the scene four minutes after reports of the blaze came in to fire dispatchers at 4:32 p.m. and called for additional support. Capt. Iskow said the residence did have a functioning smoke detector.