33 Displaced After Fire Destroys Oxnard Apartment Complex
Thirty-three people are without a home after their apartment complex caught on fire.
The fire started in the 4800 block of Terrace Avenue in Oxnard just after 2:30 Friday morning.
The fire destroyed the four apartments in the building. No one was hurt but the 33 people who lived there including 16 children now do not have anywhere to live and lost just about everything they owned.
On Friday afternoon, families salvaged what they could from their homes. The Oxnard Fire Department says the fire started in the exterior of the apartment building and it worked its way up into the attic. More than 45 firefighters worked to extinguish the flames. Within a half-hour the fire was out, but the complex was a total loss.
“It is pretty hard for them. I know it is devastating right now. They are losing their place to stay,” said neighbor and friend Ana Izazaga.
Neighbors and residents told NewsChannel 3 this isn’t the first time there has been a fire at this apartment complex. Izazaga along with other residents in the complex said this was the third fire in just the last two years at this complex.
The Oxnard Fire Department says it is still investigating what started the fire.
“I do know that we did have a fire the middle of last year at the same residence in the alley and that is being investigated further,” said Battalion Chief Sergio Martinez.
The apartment building is red-tagged, so no one is allowed to stay there. The Red Cross has set up a temporary shelter for the 33 people at Oxnard College. The Oxnard Fire Department estimates damage at $375,000.
