A fire destroyed the upper floor of a Goleta family’s home early Saturday morning, but the four people sleeping inside escaped uninjured.

Firefighters from five local stations, including Station 11 on Storke Road and UCSB’s Station 17, responded to a structure fire at 6161 Verdura Ave. at approximately 8:50 a.m. after receiving multiple 9-1-1 calls. Santa Barbara County Fire Dept. spokesman Joe Guzzardi said the fire began in a second-story bedroom.

“The owner of the house was up feeding his cats when he heard the smoke alarm,” Guzzardi said. “He then woke up his wife and two boys who were sleeping upstairs and luckily everyone was able to get out unharmed.”

When firefighters arrived, the bedroom where the fire originated was fully engulfed in flames, Guzzardi said. One of the residents was using a garden hose to attack the blaze.

“Due to the intensity of the flames, there was extensive fire damage to the initial bedroom and the adjoining bedroom,” he said. “There was also extensive smoke damage to the rest of the second story and much of the first story.”

There were four people in the house at the time: a married couple, their son and a friend of his – both in their mid-20s. No one was injured, but the interior of the house is covered with soot and ash, Guzzardi said.

“One of the boys almost slept through the smoke alarm until his father yelled up the stairs,” he said.

The Red Cross offered to pay for the residents to stay in a hotel, but the family declined, saying they felt comfortable living in only the first floor of the home.

“Most of the damage was contained to the point of origin,” Guzzardi said. “But the whole house pretty much stinks of smoke.”