Ventura commercial structure fire causes $25,000 in structure damages

VENTURA, Calif. – A structure fire that broke out at a local commercial building on Wednesday evening caused an estimated $25,000 worth of damage to the building, according to the Ventura Fire Department.

The fire department responded to the 2100 block of Eastman Avenue just before 8 p.m. on Wednesday for reports of an odor of smoke inside a large commercial building, according to Battalion Chief Luis Manzano. Arriving crews found a large single-story commercial building with a "light smell of smoke," Manzano said.

Teams began evacuating the building and performed a rapid and systematic assessment of the building to locate the source of the smoke. They found a storage area in the building that was charged with heavy smoke from a fire that was contained to two large plastic containers, Manzano said.

The main body of the fire was contained and controlled by the sprinkler system in the building, and firefighters extinguished the rest of the fire with hose lines, he added.

The fire extended into the wall and ceiling spaces and damaged some adjacent equipment, Manzano said, adding that the contents of the business were salvaged and no further damage was sustained after the fire.

The fire caused an estimated $25,000 worth of damage to the structure, and an additional $5,000 in property losses.

There were no reported injuries and the cause of the fire remained under investigation.