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MEDIA RELEASE

Incident Number:  11-0015155
Information Contact:  Matt Brock, Battalion Chief, (805)339-4300
Incident Type: Residential Structure Fire
Date/Time of Incident: March 18, 2011
Incident Location: 5500 block of La Fayette Street, Ventura
Cause: Unattended Cooking Fire
Injuries: None
Number of Personnel: 16
Fire Equipment: 3 Medic Engines, 1 Medic Truck, 1 Battalion Chief, 1 Paramedic Ambulance
Agencies Involved: Ventura City Fire, American Medical Response
Damage Estimate: $2500.00 to structure and contents
Fire Protection Systems Present: None 

Fire and EMS personnel responding to a report of a medical emergency discovered a growing fire in a residential kitchen upon their arrival.  An elderly female resident was the only one home at the time of the fire and was able to get out of the house uninjured.  When the resident discovered the fire she exited the home appropriately and went to nearby neighbors only to find no one at home.  Determined, she activated her medical alarm pendant to summon help.

Quick actions by Ventura City Fire Fighters prevented the fire from growing more serious and spreading throughout the home. The fire was accidentally started by hot oil left unattended on a cook top. The shaken elderly resident was evaluated by Paramedics at the scene but did not require any  further medical attention. The resident was reunited later with family members who returned home upon hearing of the fire.  The damage to the kitchen was estimated at $2500 and did not require the residents to be displaced.

The community is reminded to never leave any items unattended during cooking and to always have a working smoke detector in place.