CHICORA — An electrical malfunction in an air conditioning unit is the suspected cause of a fire that damaged a home on Water Street, authorities said.

Jason Ramsey and his girlfriend were away when the fire started around 9 p.m. Wednesday night and no one was injured. The couple’s dog was saved when Chicora volunteer firefighters got there and forced in the door.

The state police fire marshal’s office is investigating but the blaze was not considered suspicious, officials said.

A passing motorist saw smoke and flames coming from the back of the one-story house and notified authorities. The first fire crew was there in two minutes, said Rick Craig, an assistant chief with the Chicora Volunteer Fire Department.

“We saw flames coming up from the (back bedroom) window,” he said. The fire was coming from outside the window, which was fitted with an air conditioner.

“It was burning pretty decently,” Craig said, noting that a mishap with the air conditioning unit likely sparked the fire.

From inside, the crew attacked the fire with a pressurized water can. From outside, firefighters used a hose line. The combined effort, authorities said, quickly snuffed out the blaze.

Damage was estimated at $10,000 to the house and an additional $1,000 to its contents.

The home, owned by Harley Flick of Chicora, was not insured, authorities said. The occupants did not have renter’s insurance.

An official for the Butler chapter of the American Red Cross said the agency is assisting Ramsey and his girlfriend with temporary housing.

About 30 firefighters from five departments battled the blaze and remained there for nearly two hours. Assisting the Chicora VFD were firefighters from Bruin, East Butler and Petrolia in Butler County and Sugarcreek in Armstrong County.