VENTURA : Fire Guts Duplex, Leaves 2 Homeless

Two Ventura residents were left homeless Thursday after a fire gutted their one-story duplex and destroyed most of their belongings.

A friend of one of the tenants who had been staying in a camper in the driveway was awakened by neighbors pounding on his door at 1:10 p.m. to alert him to the fire that had started in a backyard shed of the duplex, said Ventura Fire Battalion Chief Brian Gordon.

No one was injured, and neither of the duplex’s two renters were home when the blaze started, Gordon said. About 25 firefighters extinguished the flames in about 15 minutes.

Doug Lipton rents half of the duplex, at 134 Forbes Lane, and Katherine Chase rents the adjoining unit, at 132 Forbes Lane, Gordon said.

Cause of the fire is under investigation, Gordon said.

The blaze caused about $120,000 in structural damage to the building, owned by Jesus Camilo of Ventura. Officials estimate damage to contents at $80,000.

Lipton, 48, an arts activist and multimedia artist who helps plan Ventura’s annual Day of the Dead events, lost much of his work as well as his belongings.

Chase, 57, a copy consultant at Kinko’s in Ventura, also lost most of her belongings, said American Red Cross officials who helped the two neighbors after the fire.

Hotel lodging was provided for the displaced renters Thursday night by the Ventura County Red Cross chapter, which also supplied clothing, said Mike Goth, the chapter’s manager of programs and services.

“We’ll get the folks taken care of and will sit down [today] to help them with a long-term recovery plan,” Goth said. “Some stuff is salvageable, but not much. We’ll help them with rent, furniture, clothing and other needs. Katherine and Doug were calling their families and friends. They need a support group.”

The Red Cross disaster assistance is free, provided by donations to the Ventura County Disaster Relief Fund of the American Red Cross chapter.