The Waterloo Fire Department responded to a house fire at 1409 Jamie Lane, located behind the Sunset Ford auto dealership, at about 2:20 p.m. on Thursday.

Smoke could be seen billowing out of an upstairs window upon firefighter arrival.

Employees at Sunset Ford noticed the fire right away and quickly called 911, Waterloo Fire Chief Mark Yeager said, which was crucial to the quick arrival at the scene by firefighters.

“It was a good thing they saw it when they did,” Yeager said. “Otherwise, it probably would have been much worse.”

The owners of the home, Jon and Kim Smith, were both at work when the fire occurred.

Yeager said flames were contained to the bookcase area of an upstairs bedroom. The cause of the fire was electrical in nature, Yeager said, and most likely came from a device plugged into an outlet.

While fire damage was minimal, the chief said there was plenty of smoke damage inside the home.

Heat from the fire even cracked an upstairs window of the home, Yeager said.

Sunset Ford parts manager John Rudisill said a detailer in the service department, Terry Shaw, saw flames shooting out from a window of the home.

“He told me to call 911, so I did,” Rudisill said. “I saw the smoke once he alerted me to it.”