Investigators reveal causes of recent Conejo Valley fires

The Ventura County Fire Department has determined the causes of several recent area fires.

The blaze in the 2200 block of Indian Sky Lane at 4:50 p.m. Jan. 21 was allegedly a construction accident due to spontaneous combustion from varnish, Ventura County Fire Department spokesperson Capt. Ron Oatman said. A firefighter injured from heat and smoke was treated and released from the hospital, he said.

When firefighters arrived at the 5,000-square-foot home that was under construction and unoccupied, the fire was well involved, Oatman said.

The two-alarm blaze brought 11 engines and three ladder trucks with about 50 firefighters to the scene, the captain said. It took about an hour to extinguish it.

A fire in the 800 block of Falmouth at 9:24 a.m. Jan. 12 was determined to be an accidental construction fire, most likely due to sparks from cutting metal with a chop saw the day before, Oatman said. Remodeling was underway at the back of the house.

"The wind kept sparks alive. It was just a burning ember, but the winds turned it into a fire," the captain said.

When the fire broke out, Danette McReynolds was home with her 12-year-old son in their 1929 estate just off Erbes Road. She saved her goats by taking them over to neighbor Jeff Lindaman's property. Lindaman also helped McReynolds gather up her three dogs and took them to his house. The chickens were on their own—luckily they saved themselves.

"The house was fully engaged when firefighters arrived," Oatman said.

The cause of the apartment fire in the 300 block of Rolling Oaks Drive at 10:26 p.m. Dec. 29 was determined to be from combustibles near a heat source, Oatman said.

The heat source was a wall heater, and the fire is considered accidental, he said. Ten people were displaced when the fire broke out.

Fifty-five firefighters in six engines and four ladder trucks together with other support personnel took about an hour to knock down the blaze. When firefighters arrived, the fire had burned through the red tile roof on the second story of the Los Robles Apartments, Oatman said.

A family of five was displaced after a blaze began in the bedroom of their condominium in the 500 block of Avenida de La Plata on Dec. 12. Two adults and three children escaped injury. The cause remains under investigation.

Firefighters from Station No. 35 responded to a one-alarm call at 4:10 a.m. Upon arrival, the firefighters saw smoke emanating from the roof.

A fire on Regal Oak Court that began at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 8 was caused by pyrolisis, a decomposition of the wood in the wall next to a stovetop vent after years of heat going up the vent, Oatman said.

No injuries resulted due to the actions of 19-year-old Christian Woolley, who was home alone. He got himself out of the house after he heard fire crackling in the attic of his family's two-story home, called 911 and rescued the family's Labrador retrievers from the backyard.

Six fire engines, two trucks and additional equipment arrived minutes later to what was a two-alarm fire, Oatman said. Neighbors saw flames coming from the roof, he said. "When the firefighters walked inside the home, the roof caved in, narrowly missing the firefighters," Oatman said.

For fire prevention tips, go to www.fire.countyofventura.org