BATON ROUGE — Three people were displaced following a Saturday morning house fire on Royalwood Drive, according to the Baton Rouge Fire Department. 

Fire officials said the fire began around 10:45 a.m. when an occupant inside the residence smelled smoke, which led to the discovery of a fire in the laundry room.

Upon firefighters' arrival, they found the occupant safely outside with light smoke coming from the lower edge of the roof.

While firefighters were able to limit the fire damage to the laundry room, the rest of the home received smoke and water damage. The Red Cross was contacted to assist three displaced adults. 

Investigators said the fire was caused by a malfunctioning water heater.