Firefighters Hampered in Efforts to Save Home From Predawn Fire

A pottery kiln ignited a predawn fire Thursday that destroyed most of a 3,500-square-foot house near Ojai and temporarily displaced a family of five, authorities said.

Eugene and Jackie Larson, their three children, two dogs and two kittens escaped without injury after a smoke detector woke them up. But several factors worked against firefighters as they worked unsuccessfully to keep flames from spreading from the garage to the house.

“Water was an issue because the fire hydrant was quite a distance away,” said Ventura County Fire Department Battalion Chief Rod Megli. “There was also a nice breeze out of the east pushing the fire westward from the garage to the house.”

A narrow driveway for the home at 10099 Ojai-Santa Paula Road and mud left by recent rains also complicated matters for 11 fire engines from the Santa Paula, Fillmore and county fire departments, Megli said.

“You typically deploy fire engines around a structure, but we couldn’t leave the driveway or we’d get stuck in the mud,” Megli said, adding that a tow truck had to pull two engines out of the mud.

Investigators said they are still not certain whether the family’s dogs knocked something onto the kiln or it malfunctioned, but the fire clearly started in the garage near the kiln, which was baking projects made by 4-H and Brownie clubs.

The blaze, which began about 3 a.m., caused about $300,000 in damage to the house that real estate broker Eugene Larson, 59, built 18 years ago. A value has not yet been placed on damaged contents, but Megli estimated at least $150,000.

“There’s people that deal with a whole lot worse,” said Jackie Larson, 42. “I just think of the people who live in apartments with kids and no resources and no family. They literally end up on the sidewalk.”

The community was quick to support the Larsons, arriving by 9 a.m. with clothes and toys for their children, ages 3 to 13.

The Red Cross is also providing temporary hotel assistance until the Larsons can make arrangements with their insurance company.

“Life will go on,” Jackie Larson said. “Nothing bad has ever happened to me in my life and if this is the worst of it, then we are all lucky. Others deal with devastating, unchangeable things that just turn their lives upside-down.”

The Larsons plan to pay someone to rebuild their house as soon as possible.

“I wouldn’t move for anything--this is a very special area,” Jackie Larson said.