Man Saved From Fire by Neighbor

A Camarillo man who had fallen asleep watching television Friday night was saved from serious injury when a neighbor knocked on his front door after seeing smoke billowing from the man’s house, witnesses said.

Longtime resident Phillip Busher was uninjured in the 6:30 p.m. blaze at 1725 Kendell Ave., but the gray two-story home he shares with his wife sustained major damage, said Pam Sears, a Ventura County Fire Department dispatcher.

Andy Poulson, 55, who lives across the street, alerted Busher to the blaze.

“He was asleep and it was smoky in there and I couldn’t see anything, but he came to the door when I knocked, I grabbed him and got him out there,” Poulson said.

Busher’s wife, Sandy, the former owner of Sandy’s Seafood Restaurant in Oxnard, drove up to the home as the fire roared, witnesses said. The couple’s dog died in the fire, said Fire Department spokesman Joe Luna.

Forty-five firefighters from six engine companies contained the fire by 7:42 p.m., Sears said.

The Red Cross was asked to help the Bushers with food and accommodations, she said.

The fire apparently started in an upstairs room in the rear of the house. The cause and damage estimates were not immediately known.