VENTURA : Stove Fire Damages House, Injures Pair

A meal left unattended on a stove has been blamed for a house fire in Ventura, while an arsonist is believed responsible for a car fire that destroyed a nearby storage shed in El Rio, authorities said Thursday.

Two unidentified youths who stopped to fight the blaze that broke out at a home in the 6600 block of Ralston Street in Ventura on Wednesday were overcome by smoke, Ventura Fire Battalion Chief Michael Lavery said.

The injured passersby were taken to Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura, where one was treated for smoke inhalation and the other for breathing problems from asthma that was aggravated by the smoke, Lavery said.

The fire, which began about 3 p.m. when a resident accidentally left food cooking on the stove, was confined to the kitchen area, although smoke and heat caused damage throughout the residence. Fire officials estimated the damage at $30,000 to the structure and $10,000 to its contents.

Shortly after 7 p.m. Wednesday, county firefighters were summoned to the 2700 block of Alvarado Street in El Rio, county fire spokeswoman Tracy Valencia said.

When they arrived, firefighters found that a fire set in an abandoned car had spread to an adjacent hut, heavily damaging the storage shed and the engine parts stored inside.

Investigators said an arsonist had set the fire, which caused an estimated $10,000 damage to the Quonset hut and destroyed an estimated $5,000 worth of engine parts. The owner of the structure was not immediately identified, Valencia said.

Firefighters contained the fire within 20 minutes, she said.