By ERIC LINDBERG — Jan. 6, 2010

Firefighters extinguished what appeared to be a small electrical fire in an attic space of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse yesterday afternoon after employees in the public defender’s office reported heavy smoke filling their third-floor wing.

Phones in the office reportedly cut out just after 5 p.m. and employees said they noticed a burning odor before smoke started drifting into the office. Fire crews quickly evacuated the entire courthouse and shut down portions of Anacapa Street to traffic.

“It looked like the origin was in an electrical equipment room,” City Fire Battalion Chief Pat McElroy said, although the exact cause of the fire had yet to be determined.

After initially struggling to gain access to the attic-like area above the third floor, fire crews reached the blaze and contained it within that space. Firefighters could be seen on the tile rooftop of the courthouse, but they reportedly could not access the fire from above due to the building’s thick concrete roof.

“That was one of our problems — because the building is so well constructed, it doesn’t vent easily,” McElroy said, adding, “The smoke didn’t have a natural route to escape.”

He said crews used water sparingly due to the electrical equipment in the room and to avoid damage to the offices. The full extent of the damage was not clear yesterday evening, although authorities said they expected the courthouse to be open for business today.

As firefighters entered and exited the building in full gear, attorneys from the public defender’s office milled about on the steps of the Sunken Gardens, gazing up at light smoke drifting from the office windows above the main archway.

By 6:45 p.m., fire officials started releasing crews back to normal duty, although a fire investigator remained on the scene and county officials were assessing damage to the building.

“We’ll probably have people here all night,” County Spokesman William Boyer said.

McElroy said fire officials initially responded a single engine to the scene before quickly upgrading to a full response of three engines, a truck company and a battalion chief.

Due to the potential damage to the historic courthouse, authorities called a third alarm, bringing the total resources up to six city fire engines and two ladder trucks, including one from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department.

“The value of this building is incalculable,” McElroy said.

With so many city fire resources tied up at the scene, he said the county fire department helped cover the northern portions of Santa Barbara while the Montecito Fire Protection District covered areas of the Eastside.

Fire crews were expected to remain on the scene into the evening, and McElroy said there would be a security presence at the courthouse throughout the night.