OXNARD : Man, Children Saved in Townhouse Fire

Firefighters rescued two children and a sleeping man from a burning townhouse in Oxnard on Sunday morning, authorities said.

Joseph Bautista, 32, and his daughter and nephew, both 5, were rescued from a two-story townhouse on the 900 block of Cheyenne Way about 9 a.m., said Oxnard Fire Department Chief Clarence Slayton.

Passersby noticed smoke coming from an upstairs window and called the Fire Department. No one answered when the neighbors pounded on the door, Slayton said.

“One of our firefighters noticed that there were kids in the upstairs window so we proceeded to kick the door down,” Slayton said. After firefighters brought the children outside, they told them that Bautista was still sleeping upstairs, he said.

The children were playing with matches and candles and had set a bed on fire, Slayton said. The fire was confined to the bedroom and caused $7,000 damage.