2 Blazes Leave 11 Homeless

A house fire in Thousand Oaks and an apartment blaze in Simi Valley left 11 people homeless Friday, including a 10-month-old boy, and caused nearly $700,000 in damage.

About 7:55 a.m., a garage fire destroyed a family’s three-bedroom residence in the 500 block of Houston Drive in Thousand Oaks, authorities said.

Two neighbors -- an infant with heart problems and her grandmother -- were hospitalized as a result of the blaze, which produced billowing black smoke visible from two blocks away. Investigators later determined that the fire was caused by combustible materials stored too close to a water heater.

About a dozen engines, ladder trucks and other vehicles responded to the blaze, and it took Ventura County Fire Department personnel about 90 minutes to control the fire, which left the two-story wooden dwelling a blackened, smoldering skeleton.

Officials estimate that the fire caused $250,000 in damage to the structure and $20,000 to its contents. “The house is pretty well gutted,” said Capt. Mark Taillon, one of the firefighters whose trucks crowded the narrow residential street.

Earlier Friday in Simi Valley, an unattended candle sparked a blaze that caused more than $400,000 in damage to a 16-unit apartment building in the 800 block of Country Club Drive, authorities said.

There were no major injuries in the 1:45 a.m. blaze, but one firefighter was cut on his cheek when he was struck by falling debris, authorities said. At least two apartments were destroyed, displacing seven adults and one child. Red Cross officials made hotel arrangements for the victims.

As firefighters began looking through the charred remains in the Thousand Oaks fire, other crew members were dousing the interior with hoses. “We don’t want the fire to rekindle after we’ve left the scene,” Taillon said.

Before investigators could inspect the upstairs, firefighters installed two-by-four beams to support the second story.

The home’s owner, Wayne Olson, who owns a video production company in Newbury Park, was leaving for the office when he noticed a suspicious odor.

“I smelled something, but we had just put on the heater. And it wasn’t that strong until I walked out the front door,” he said.

Olson said he dropped a video camera and ran back inside to get his wife, Rosemary, and their 10-month-old son, Joseph.

Rosemary Olson, wearing a brace on her right wrist from an earlier accident, said it was fortunate that her husband left later than usual Friday, or she and their son might have been trapped in a downstairs bedroom near the garage.

Standing across the street in a neighbor’s driveway, Wayne Olson lamented the loss of belongings and paperwork -- including several business checks he hadn’t cashed -- but said he was able to save one of the family’s five cats, a 16-year-old named Sartre. A 13-year-old cat turned up later, but officials believe the other three may have perished in the fire.

“That was pretty devastating to them,” said Cecilia Cuevas of the Ventura County American Red Cross. “Because of that trauma, we dispatched a mental health counselor to work with the family.”

The charity bought baby food and diapers for Joseph and arranged for Wayne Olson, who is diabetic, to pick up needles and an insulin prescription, Cuevas said. The family also received vouchers for temporary shelter, clothing and food.

Aid also was extended to the household next door, where Maria Olivo and her infant granddaughter, Zahamit Kissoon, were taken to Los Robles Regional Medical Center to be treated for smoke inhalation. Olivo was quickly released, but the 1 1/2-month-old was taken by helicopter to UCLA Medical Center, where she was treated for preexisting heart and lung problems.

Olson said he was thankful the camera he carried from his home contained Christmas videos of his son, and that family photographs are safely downloaded onto a computer at work.

“I’m so glad he’s not older,” Olson said. “He won’t remember a lot of this.”

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Times staff writer Holly J. Wolcott contributed to this report.