Blaze Quickly Guts Piru Home, Spreads to Neighboring House
A two-alarm fire destroyed a $40,000 Piru home and spread to the attic and bedroom of a neighboring residence Saturday morning, authorities said.
The fire began in a two-story home owned by Clarence Keller at 534 N. Main St., said Capt. Jeb McGinty of the Ventura County Fire Department.
Despite the arrival of firefighters within a minute of the 7:48 a.m. call, 10-foot flames quickly consumed Keller’s 1940s-era home, McGinty said.
“We had fire coming out of all the windows,” McGinty said. “It was fully involved.”
Live electrical wires dangling between the two homes, 3 pounds of gunpowder stored in an upstairs closet, and 1,000 rounds of ammunition scattered around the burning house complicated firefighting efforts, he said. No one was injured in the blaze, fire officials said.
A Fillmore engine company was called in to help the trio of Piru-based firefighters battle the blaze.
Structural damage to the second home was estimated at $10,000, but it remains habitable, McGinty said.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation.
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