VENTURA : Fire Kills Woman in 2nd-Floor Bedroom

A 52-year-old Ventura woman was killed Saturday when a fire broke out in a second-story bedroom of her Brockton Lane home.

Jerilyn Olsen was pronounced dead at 3:39 a.m. at her Pierpont-area residence.

The Ventura Fire Department responded to the blaze at 981 Brockton Lane at 3:15 a.m. As they arrived, firefighters saw heavy smoke spewing from the second story of the three-bedroom residence. The firefighters controlled the fire, which was confined to the woman’s bedroom, within 10 minutes, but discovered Olsen dead.

Jeff Peppard, a tenant in a first-floor annex, escaped from the home after firefighters banged on his door.

“It sounded like an explosion,” said Peppard, a 36-year-old dentist. “Before too long, someone was knocking on my door.”

Eighteen firefighters and four engines responded. The house sustained smoke and water damage, which the Fire Department estimated at $35,000. The fire also destroyed about $30,000 worth of contents.

Peppard said he was stunned by Olsen’s death. “She was always smiling and happy,” he said. “She never seemed to have any worries.”

Neighbors called the Fire Department when a newspaper delivery person alerted them that heavy smoke was coming from Olsen’s roof. Fire officials were still investigating the cause of the blaze.

Olsen is survived by an ex-husband, George Olsen of Los Angeles, and other family members in Iowa.