Faulty wiring blamed for fire at Ventura manufacturing and storage center

VENTURA, Calif. -- Ventura Firefighters were called to a fire on Tuesday at a commercial manufacturing and storage center.

The fire department said it happened on the 1500 block of Morse Avenue just before noon.

The large rectangular metal structure houses many individual tenants and businesses, according to Ventura Fire

Neighbors reported seeing smoke in the unoccupied unit. Shortly after, smoke started coming from the adjacent unit.

Firefighters put out the flames in about 12 minutes. Nobody was inside the business at the time.

A Ventura Fire Investigator found the source of the fire and made a preliminary determination that the fire was caused by faulty electrical wiring.

Ventura Fire Prevention personnel and Ventura Building and Safety, determined that the building was unsafe, leaving the facility Red Tagged.

The fire caused an estimated dollar loss of $25,000 in contents, and $100,000 in structural damages.