Kitchen Fire in Old Town Goleta Restaurant

(Photos: Mike Eliason / SBCFD)

Firefighters knocked down a kitchen fire in Alphie’s Restaurant in Old Town Goleta late Sunday afternoon.

Crews arrived to 5725 Hollister Ave at 4:35 p.m. for a report of a commercial building fire. They discovered smoke and flames in the front of the restaurant, and after gaining access to the building learned the fire was located in the kitchen. 

The fire was knocked down within 5 minutes, said Santa Barbara County Fire Department Public Information Officer Mike Eliason.

An apartment is attached to the back of the restaurant and the occupants were home at the time of the fire. An edhat reader lives in this apartment and stated, “We were home and luckily the man who reported it drove straight to the back honking his horn to notify us of the fire. We are especially thankful for the So Cal Edison employee who is a former firefighter who entered the building first. I showed him where the fire extinguisher was and he sprayed it until the fire trucks arrived on scene.”

No injuries were reported and an investigator is looking into the cause of the fire. 

#StructureFire– Commercial bld at 5725 Hollister Ave in Goleta. Fire contained to kitchen area of front of bldg w knockdown in 5 minutes. No extension or injuries. Investigators O/S determining cause. C/T 4:35 pic.twitter.com/KFi3kAQI13

— SBCFireInfo (@EliasonMike) January 15, 2018

*[Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article stated there were 4 separate apartments behind the restaurant that were unoccupied at the time, per the Santa Barbara County Fire Department]