A pet and cat perished in a residential fire Monday afternoon that extinguished itself but caused as much as $25,000 in damage, the Carlisle fire chief said.

The residents of an apartment in the 700 block of Joshua Court went out to dinner at about 3:30 p.m. and returned home to find their apartment on fire, Fire Chief Krista Wyatt said.

They were able to rescue their small dog, but a bird and cat perished. The Red Cross was called to assist the residents because the damage made the apartment impossible to return to until some restoration can be done, the chief said.

The building was evacuated as a precaution. There were no injuries to any of the residents.

“This was a fairly significant fire” that put itself out, Wyatt said. “The fire had been taking place while they were gone,” she said. The cause remains under investigation.

Wyatt estimated damage to the contents at $5,000, $3,000 to the building. All told, she said, the overall damage estimate would be no more than $25,000.