The Ventura County Star
OXNARD, Calif. — A fire at an Oxnard fertilizer warehouse Sunday morning caused about $15,000 damage.
The Oxnard Fire Department responded to the fire shortly after 11 a.m., finding a fire on the exterior of the Crop Production Services building on the 1000 block of East Wooley Road in Oxnard, according to Battalion Chief Mike O’Malia.
O’Malia said firefighters extinguished the blaze within about 20 minutes, but had to force their way into the warehouse when they realized the fire had extended inside.
When they found the fertilizer inside, firefighters had to treat it as a hazardous materials response due to the concern that the chemicals from the fertilizer could be toxic and runoff from the water hoses shouldn’t get into storm drains, he said.
After controlling the runoff, it was determined that the fertilizer was a fairly weak lawn fertilizer, so firefighters were able to turn the rest of the cleanup over to the business, he said.
Four engines and 24 firefighters responded to the blaze and firefighters were at the scene for about three hours. The fire did about $5,000 damage to the structure and about $10,000 damage to the contents, O’Malia said.
O’Malia said investigators suspect the fire may have been started by a warming fire left unattended in a homeless encampment near thewarehouse.
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