(BCN) — A house fire early Sunday morning displaced two people in unincorporated Soquel and may have been sparked by accident due to recent electrical work, according to the Central Fire Protection District of Santa Cruz County.
Firefighters responded to a report from a resident of smoke and excessive heat at a home in the 5400 block of Soquel Drive around 2 a.m., district spokesman Mike DeMars said.
Both residents were able to safely escape from the building before the 911 call was made, DeMars said.
Fire crews found smoke coming from the home’s roof. They entered through the front door and went to the master bedroom where the fire was burning, according to DeMars.
Firefighters were able to ventilate the roof and extinguished flames they found in the attic area, DeMars said.
There was a large amount of storage items in the home that slowed down firefighters from dousing the blaze sooner, according to DeMars.
The blaze was under control in about an hour, he said.
The fire resulted in heat and smoke damage throughout the home, he said.
It appears to have started by accident in the master bedroom, where a light switch and fixture were repaired hours earlier, according to DeMars.
The American Red Cross was called to assist the residents displaced by the fire because the home was determined to be uninhabitable, DeMars said.