MEINERS OAKS : Woman, 72, Escapes $175,000 House Fire

A Meiners Oaks woman barely escaped a fire Wednesday that destroyed her home, damaged a neighbor’s house and ignited a small grass fire a block away.

Investigators said a faulty heating unit in the garage caused the fire, which may have smoldered for several days before it erupted, causing $100,000 damage to the house and $75,000 to the contents, including a late-model car.

Jennie Taylor, 72, who lived at 819 Cambon Circle, escaped when she heard an explosion in the garage.

Six engine companies with 35 firefighters from as far as Rincon, Camarillo and Las Posas responded to the blaze, but the roof was caving in when they arrived, making it hazardous for them to enter, department spokesman Norm Plott said. The firefighters arrived on the scene at 11:13 a.m. and had the fire extinguished at 12:30 p.m.

Two firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion, another for minor burns and a fourth, Fred Mandragon, 55, captain of the Oak View fire station, was taken to Ojai Valley Community Hospital with chest pains, Plott said.

Taylor, a part-time Ventura College employee, said she had just returned from her morning swim, parked her car in the garage and entered the house when she heard an explosion.

“It was a big, muffled boom,” said Holly Mitchem, Taylor’s neighbor, whose house had $2,000 in damage.