PORT HUENEME : Duplex Fire to Displace Family for Several Days

A Port Hueneme family of four will be displaced for several days while investigators determine the cause of a small fire in a bedroom of their single-story duplex on Wednesday, officials said.

The blaze, which was limited to the bedroom but caused significant damage, erupted about 3:30 p.m. in a home in the 2600 block of Bolker Drive.

“My neighbor called me at work and said my house was on fire,” said Denise Lopez, who is three months pregnant. “There’s no way I can stay in there the way it is.”

Four fire companies and 16 firefighters extinguished the blaze within minutes. Investigators had not determined the cause or a damage estimate.

“It was a room-and-contents fire with no extension” to other parts of the home, said Dave Festerling, a Ventura County Fire Department spokesman. “It could have been worse.”

No injuries were reported.

Neighbor Bonnie Skene said she noticed smoke coming from the house and went in to investigate.

“I checked the iron and I checked the stove, and as I went back (to the bedroom) I saw the smoke,” she said.

Lopez said she and her husband keep their bedroom door locked while they are at work. She said she had no idea how the fire started.

“I imagine we’ll go to a motel or something, because they told us we can’t stay here,” Lopez said.