Construction Crew Sleeping at Project Site Flees Blaze

OXNARD — Firefighters doused a predawn blaze Wednesday at a luxury apartment complex that, although still under construction, housed seven sleeping crew workers.

None of the workers was hurt in the 3:45 a.m. fire in the 1600 block of Lombard Street.

Authorities ruled out arson, but the cause remains under investigation.

One building is considered a total loss, fire officials said, with only the structure’s steel frames and concrete base remaining. The complex sustained an estimated $900,000 in damage, according to authorities.

City officials were looking into why construction crew members were sleeping in the partially built structure, in violation of city building codes. Officials said it is a violation for anyone to inhabit a building unless it has been inspected and certified by the building and safety division.

“Obviously, that didn’t happen here, because the building was still under construction,” said Oxnard Police Sgt. Bryan MacDonald, who oversees code enforcement matters.

It was unclear whether officials of Acacia Construction Inc. of Camarillo knew their employees were sleeping on the site.

Fire Battalion Chief Brian Windsor said company representatives expressed surprise that workers were staying overnight. “We asked the project manager about it and he said no, he had no knowledge of them sleeping there.”

Windsor said that at least seven employees were sleeping inside one of the fire-damaged buildings, two others were sleeping in a van outside the structure and two more were sleeping in a small wooden shack that had been erected nearby. Code enforcement officials had the shack removed Wednesday.

Calls to Acacia Construction and project manager Rick Shay were not returned Wednesday.

Windsor said the company has promised to hire an after-hours security guard to patrol the construction site and ensure that employees are not sleeping in any of the structures.

When firefighters arrived at the fire, one of the complex’s 26 buildings was fully engulfed in flames and two adjacent buildings were beginning to burn, Battalion Chief Mike O’Malia said.

Firefighters contained the blaze before it jumped to adjacent buildings, which each contain 16 apartment units, and extinguished the flames in about two hours, O’Malia said. O’Malia said firefighters were slowed in their response because entrance roads to the complex are not yet paved. He said the firetrucks navigating the dirt roads had to slow down considerably, delaying their response time by a few minutes.

“It is an issue we deal with on construction sites all the time,” he said. “We are looking at this one to see what can be done.”

Although construction roads do not have to be paved, MacDonald said they must be able to support emergency vehicles. Authorities have requested that the construction company lay a gravel-based mixture over the dirt roads to improve access until construction is complete and the roads receive a coat of asphalt.

Acacia representatives have about a week to meet the city’s requests, MacDonald said. “We’ll be checking back to make sure they are in compliance.”