50 Displaced As Second Fire In 24 Hours Destroys Oxnard Apartment Complex
OXNARD (CBSLA) -- A two-alarm fire in Oxnard destroyed an apartment complex and displaced many residents -- a complex that saw two fires in less than a 24-hour period.
CBS2/KCAL9 reporter Jeff Nguyen spoke to some of the devastated tenants. Firefighters remained on scene to make sure there are no more flare-ups.
This evening, Miguel Lara and his family worked to clear out their mom's fire damaged apartment.
Intense flames and smoke shot out of the attic around 11 this morning.
Lara raced over from Santa Paula to help.
"Things were pretty tall. I would say maybe 11-feet, 12-fee. Not sure how much. It looked pretty bad. It was pretty hot," said Lara.
This was the second fire at the complex. The first was last night.
The fire department says the first truck arrived within four minutes after it got the call from dispatch.
Felipe Robles and his family lived in one of the nine units that burned. He tried to collect his thoughts as he surveyed the damage.
"Ugh. Married for 27-years. So whatever's in there is gone," Robles said.
Robles told Nguyen he kept his work tools on his patio.
"I have all this stuff. I tried to grab whatever I can," Robles says.
The fire affected 50 people who can't go home because their apartments are not inhabitable.
Some are getting help from the Red Cross.
Miguel Lara says he and his sibling were raised here. Fortunately, their mom is okay.
But their baby pictures and important documents were victims of the fire.
"All those photos are gone. The only thing we have is whatever's on Instagram and Snapchat," Lara says.
Investigators are looking into the causes of both fires and trying to determine if they are related.
Two minor injuries were reported.