The residents of 6655 Sueno Road are facing the task of getting their home back in order, but pleased nonetheless with the performance of local emergency services.

At about 10:33 p.m. on Saturday night, Santa Barbara Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the Sueno residence to respond to a report of a structure fire with a subject trapped inside apartment C.

Sgt. Phil Willis, public information officer with the Sheriff’s Dept., said Deputy Joel Rivlin kicked the door in and determined the house was empty. Rivlin and fellow deputies James McCoy, Don Maiden and Mike Durant extinguished the small fire before firefighters arrived.

The fire apparently began because a towel was draped over a halogen lamp in the bedroom. The fire spread from there, burning part of the bed, a pile of clothes and the curtains. The other residents of the complex were evacuated, but there was no reported damage to any other part of the structure.

Willis praised the deputies for their ability to contain the situation in an efficient manner.

“[They] did a truly amazing job,” he said.

Willis also said neighbors and wandering party-goers aided the officers in extinguishing the fire, which only burned a bedroom in the northeast corner of the second floor. Several people on the street waved officers down, shouting there was a fire in the building and pointing to unit C of the complex.

“Bystanders helped by getting garden hoses and scouting the area for every fire extinguisher on the block. It really was a neighborhood effort,” he said.

Scott Brama, senior philosophy major and a resident of the apartment, said he was pleased with the way the officers put out the fire.

“I would like to thank them,” he said. “They kept the damage to a minimum, and that was tight. Nothing was that wrecked at all,” he said. “There was a lot of smoke, but the only burn spot was where the towel was. … There was some damage due to the water and some from the chemicals, but it wasn’t that bad. We’re glad they could put the fire out. And we’re glad that no one got hurt, too.”

– Nexus staff writer Jennifer B. Siverts also contributed to this story.