SAN DIEGO -- An electrical problem sparked a non-injury fire Thursday that tore through a University City home, a fire official said.

The blaze erupted about noon in a rear sunroom at the house in the 4700 block of Pauling Avenue, then spread to the dining room, kitchen and attic, said Maurice Luque of the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

It took engine and truck crews about 15 minutes to extinguish the flames, he said.

Red Cross personnel helped the residents, a married couple, arrange for interim housing. They were not home when the fire broke out, he said.

The fire did $200,000 damage to the residence, $60,000 to its contents and $8,000 to a scorched fence and patio at a next-door house.

Due to the extent of damage to the room in which the blaze started, investigators were unable to precisely pin down the cause, according to Luque.

"It could have been an extension cord, it could have been a computer printer, but they just couldn't say with certainty," he said.