Arson suspected in Santa Barbara County house fire, Sheriff’s Office says

Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies detained a man on Monday after a suspected arson fire at an Orcutt residence.

At approximately 11:15 a.m., personnel from the Santa Barbara County and Santa Maria fire departments were dispatched to the fire in a single-family home on the 1400 block of Genoa Way. Firefighters were alerted by deputies who noticed smoke coming from the home.

“We had a nearly fully involved structure,” said Capt. David Sonsini from county fire Medic Engine 26. “Initial reports were that it came from an incendiary explosive device.”

“We did a quick transitional attack, which is firefighting from the outside, moving our way into the structure,” he added. “We got a pretty quick knockdown on it, and conducted primary and secondary searches.”

Fire entered the attic, and crews were applying water to hot spots in the attic approximately an hour after arriving at the scene.

Ten minutes before firefighters were called, deputies had responded to the scene for a report of male subject breaking out the windows at a home.

Deputies learned that the resident, Rockie Ginter, 52, had intentionally set the house on fire, Raquel Zick, Sheriff’s Office public information officer, said.

“While firefighters worked to extinguish the fire, deputies evacuated homes in the immediate area and temporarily closed the roadway,” she added.

More than an hour after the incident, crime-scene technicians arrived to assist in the investigation.

“The cause is still under investigation,” Sonsini said, adding that overhaul chores were pending completion of the on-scene assessment by investigators.

Authorities asked people to avoid the area of Genoa and Harmony Lane.

The house, which sits on the corner of Harmony and Genoa, has an unkempt front yard that stands out amid neighboring properties with incredibly neat yards.

No firefighters or members of the public were injured and the suspect’s residence was the only one damaged by fire, Zick said.

This is not Ginter’s first criminal case. He has faced several misdemeanor and felony charges including one for arson in 2005 along with alcohol- and drug-related offenses over the years.

In addition to firefighters and sheriff’s deputies, California Highway Patrol officers and American Medical Response ambulance personnel assisted at the scene.

Check back with Noozhawk for updates to this story.

— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com.

This story was originally published June 3, 2024 at 5:48 PM with the headline "Arson suspected in Santa Barbara County house fire, Sheriff’s Office says."