Woman’s Actions in Fire Praised

A 30-year-old Oxnard woman was praised by authorities for helping two elderly roommates flee a home that caught fire Thursday after an oxygen tank exploded.

Kaysie Seymour, 30, had been sleeping at the house at 2410 S. K St. when the blast occurred about 8 a.m., fire officials said.

After being awakened by a younger housemate, Seymour rescued an 84-year-old woman and that woman’s 65-year-old daughter, both of whom use oxygen for respiratory illnesses, officials said.

“She was instrumental in getting people out,” Oxnard Fire Department spokesman Dan Gildea said. Two other residents in the three-bedroom rental--a 26-year-old woman and her 5-year-old son--were also forced to flee.

“We were getting everyone out of the house, and the flames got bigger and the smoke thicker,” Seymour said.

The elderly women and the young mother and her son were treated for smoke inhalation at St. John’s Regional Medical Center. All were released Thursday except the 84-year-old, who was admitted for an unrelated problem, officials said.

Two bedrooms and a hallway were gutted, and damage to the home and its contents was estimated at $80,000, officials said.