Blaze Causes $80,000 Damage at Oxnard Shop
A fire in an Oxnard industrial shop Wednesday caused more than $80,000 in damage, officials said.
No one was injured in the fire, which started about 11 a.m. in an industrial park in the 1200 block of Saviers Road, said Battalion Chief Clarence Slayton of the Oxnard Fire Department.
The blaze at Collins Design Studio was caused by an employee using a fan to blow away fumes of solvents and thinners he was mixing, Slayton said.
“Floor fans are not the type of fans you should be using to do what they were trying to do,” Slayton said. “They were going to blow the fumes out into the open air, and that’s not the way to evacuate those explosive fumes. All it takes is a spark from one of these fans, and it caused the fire.”
He said Fire Department investigators are checking whether any laws were violated.
The business, which specializes in metal and machine work, suffered about $30,000 damage to its equipment, mostly machines and tools, and $50,000 damage to the structure, Slayton said.
At least three employees were working when the fire started, which took about 15 minutes to extinguish, Slayton said.
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