Firefighters say two neighbors helped rescue a woman from an apartment fire in Vandenberg Village Tuesday night.
Santa Barbara County Fire says it got a call just after 8 p.m. Tuesday about a fire in the 300 block of Burton Mesa Road at the Diplomat Apartments.
A man who lived in the apartment was in Santa Barbara at the time, but received an alert through an app on his phone, notifying him that his smoke detector was going off. Through the app, he could see the inside of the apartment, and he saw smoke filling the residence. He was also able to see his disabled wife’s walker, which meant she was at home at the time.
He called 911, and firefighters responded within six minutes.
Before crews arrived, the upstairs neighbors had heard the smoke alarm going off and went downstairs to investigate. They heard the woman crying for help, so they went in and pulled her to safety.
Firefighters went inside once they were able to confirm everyone had gotten outside.
The woman, who was about 60 years old, was treated and then taken to a local hospital with minor injuries. As of the last update, her husband was on the way to the hospital to meet with her.
Firefighters were able to quickly knock out a fire in the bedroom. Firefighters say the room had major smoke and fire damage, and the rest of the apartment also had smoke damage.
Several other apartments were evacuated as a precaution, but no other apartments were affected by the fire.
Investigators are trying to figure out what sparked the fire.
Firefighters are thanking the two people who rescued the woman before they arrived at the scene. They call what they did “nothing short of heroic.”
