The burning building, at Dawson Avenue and Rutherford Street, was a hell of flames and explosions in the machine shop at 5750 Dawson Ave. when firefighters arrived about Wednesday about 4:30 a.m.

“It was fully involved when we got here,” said county Fire Capt. Keith Collum. “There was no possibility of saving the structure.”

Thirty firefighters from seven engine companies and two truck companies of the Santa Barbara County Fire department, as well as assistance from the Santa Barbara City Fire Department, worked for roughly 90 minutes to gain control of the intense blaze and prevent it from spreading to adjoining businesses.

Exploding tanks of acetylene gas inside the machine shop made entering the building dangerous, Cullom said.

TWM Induction, which manufactures high-performance fuel injection systems at 325 Rutherford, suffered minor structural damage from the fire. Fire officials said that there was no sprinkler system in the building.

Two other attached businesses were undamaged other than loss of business resulting from the fire. No dollar loss or cause of the fire has been determined; the investigation is still in process.

There were no injuries reported from either the fire or fallen power lines in the street.

Photo by Keith Cullom

Caption: Firefighters work to keep a blaze from spreading to surrounding businesses in Old Town Goleta early Wednesday.