Woman, 86, Rescued by Firefighters

An 86-year-old woman and four people who came to her aid suffered smoke inhalation Sunday from a fire that caused extensive damage to a home while the rest of the woman’s family attended Easter church services.

The woman, who was recovering from hip surgery, remained alone in her home at 1899 Hendrix Ave. while her family attended services at nearby United Methodist Church on East Janss Road, said Sandi Wells, a Ventura County Fire Department spokeswoman.

An unattended space heater left on in a converted garage at the front of the home was blamed for the blaze, which broke out at 11:43 a.m., Wells said.

Damage to the 1,800-square-foot-home in the Rancho Conejo neighborhood of Thousand Oaks was mainly confined to the roof and the garage, Wells said.

The fire caused an estimated $120,000 in structural damage, mostly to the roof, and led to an additional $80,000 in damage to the home’s contents, much of it caused by smoke, she added.

A passerby alerted neighbor Jeff Craig, 51, who ran to help with his 16- and 17-year-old sons, Wells said.

Craig and his sons tried to climb through a window to rescue the woman, but the trio were overcome by smoke, she said. They grabbed a garden hose and attempted to douse the flames while authorities arrived at the scene.

“The fact that they attempted to crawl inside a burning home and the fact that they attempted to put out the fire with a garden house, [these] were both extremely heroic deeds,” Wells said.

Sheriff’s Deputy Gus Gonzales, who arrived before the firetrucks, also attempted to rescue the woman but he, too, was overcome by the smoke.

Entering the house with a high-pressure hose line and smoke protection gear, firefighters discovered the woman inside a bathroom near a front bedroom. The woman and a small dog hiding under a table were carried out to safety.

Craig, Gonzales and the woman were taken to Los Robles Regional Medical Center. The men were released after treatment. Craig’s two sons were treated at the scene. All the rescuers were in good condition, Wells said. But a nursing supervisor at Los Robles said the woman, whom authorities did not identify, was in serious but stable condition.

By Sunday afternoon, the family’s antique furniture was being moved into storage, she said. American Red Cross representatives were assisting the family, whom authorities said would be staying with relatives and friends who lived nearby.