Condo Fire Blamed on Coffee Machine

An unattended cappuccino machine placed too close to a stove was blamed for a kitchen fire in an east Ventura condominium Tuesday afternoon.

Residents Tom and Maria Gonzales and their four children, all under age 11, were not home at the time of the 4:20 p.m. fire, said Brian Gordon, a Ventura City Fire Department battalion chief.

Fire investigators said it appeared that the cappuccino machine fell onto an electric burner that had been left on.

The fire in the upstairs unit at 1187 Saratoga Ave. destroyed the stove, scorched an adjacent kitchen wall and caused extensive smoke damage. The blaze was contained in 10 minutes, and damage was put at $8,000.

The family was allowed to remain in the home Tuesday night.

The Gonzaleses told fire officials that they had not cooked on the range in more than 24 hours, and Tom Gonzales said he noticed nothing unusual when he left the apartment about two hours before the fire.

Gonzales and several neighbors said electrical appliances in some of the older condominiums they rent are outdated. Gonzales said he was using small wooden sticks to keep knobs on the stove in place.

“What can you do? I’ve had a lot of problems,” said Gonzales, who was having his car repaired at the time of the fire.

Neighbor Dean Dutton, 13, said he was the first to spot smoke billowing from the four-unit building. Dean said he called 911 from his mother’s car telephone.