Smoking in Bed Is Suspected in Fatal Fire

A Ventura woman believed to have been smoking in bed died this weekend after her bed caught fire.

Carol Maloney, 54, was pronounced dead at the scene Saturday night after a neighbor pulled her from the smoke-filled bedroom at 2721 Sailor Ave.

The fire began about 8:45 p.m. Neighbor Mark Smith, who tried to rescue Maloney, had just returned home when he saw smoke coming from the house across the street.

“I didn’t know if it was a fire, a barbecue or what,” he said.

While his wife called police, Smith and a neighbor, a Burbank firefighter, contacted the owner of the house, who had rented an upstairs room to Maloney. They unlocked the door to Maloney’s room, and smoke poured out.

“I went in there, crawled on my stomach til I felt a leg, and I pulled her out of there,” Smith said.

Maloney showed no signs of life, Smith said. The neighbors then extinguished the flames with a hose before firefighters arrived.

Although Smith said he was pleased the fire did not spread to the rest of the house, he was sorry he and his neighbors did not reach Maloney in time.

“I think you’re a hero when you pull someone out, and they survive,” he said.