VENTURA : Apartment Site Fire Under Investigation

The cause of a blaze that destroyed part of an apartment complex under construction in Ventura is being classified as suspicious while investigators continue to hunt for a motive and possible arson suspects.

The fire broke out at 12:11 a.m. Sunday in the 1100 block of Cypress Point Lane where a 12-unit complex for senior citizens, called Cypress Meadows, was being built.

Fire Investigator Glenn True said the fire began on the second floor of the complex and spread quickly through the structure, which did not yet have interior walls. Damage was estimated at $100,000 to $250,000.

“It’s definitely suspicious for something like that to happen at that time of morning,” he said.

Fire officials have ruled out natural causes, but said they have not yet found any telltale signs of arson, such as the use of flammable liquids. True said investigators will have to develop more information before the fire is ruled arson.

A few workmen dropped off materials at the construction site Saturday, but no work was performed. A six-foot, chain-link fence surrounds the site, and a foreman with Towbes Construction, the Santa Barbara company building the complex, said it appeared that the fence had been cut, he said.

Besides examining the charred remains of the complex, investigators are trying to locate two people seen leaving the scene of the fire just after it began. One person drove away in a vehicle and the other was seen walking north on Cypress Point Lane, True said.

“Perhaps they were leaving for work at that time, or they might have been our bad guys,” True said.