Two cats and a dog died in a house fire in Linda Vista on Thursday morning, a blaze that good Samaritans tried to douse as firefighters headed to the scene.
The fire in the home on Goodwin Street near Wes Drescher Street was reported shortly after 9 a.m., according to San Diego Fire-Rescue Department dispatch logs.
When fire crews arrived, they saw smoke and spotted neighbors trying to put water on the fire.
No one was home, so firefighters had to force their way inside. There, they found the deceased pets.
The fire was out within 15 minutes.
Three adults and one dog were displaced, a Fire-Rescue spokeswoman said. No one was injured.