A mid-afternoon electrical fire Saturday damaged a house on the 1200 block of Allegheny Street in Hollidaysburg — but the house remains habitable.

No one was hurt, and the damage was almost entirely confined to a first-floor office — mainly because a resident happened to close the office door before the family of four left for an outing that day, according to Eric Schmitt, assistant chief of the Phoenix Volunteer Fire Department.

Upon returning home, the residents could hear smoke detectors beeping, and found the house full of smoke when they opened the door, which led them to call 911, Schmitt said.

On arriving, firefighters entered the first floor, discovered the fire in the office and put it out with a minimum of water, according to Schmitt.

The damage within the office from heat and smoke was severe, he said.

But there was only a mild odor of smoke in the rest of the house, he said.

The homeowners have insurance, Schmitt said.

The fire seems to have originated with a power strip, into which computer equipment was plugged, according to Schmitt.

A check of the panel box showed that the breaker for the circuit into which the power strip was plugged had been tripped, Schmitt said.

The fire would have likely spread throughout the first floor if the office door hadn’t been closed before the family left for the day, and they don’t always close that door before leaving, he said.

About 40 firefighters were on scene from Phoenix of Hollidaysburg, Duncansville, Geeseytown, Allegheny Township, Lakemont, Gallitzin, East Freedom and Friendship in Roaring Spring, Schmitt said.

Firefighters tapped a nearby hydrant, but used only engine water to fight the fire, according to Schmitt.