Calif. Firefighters Battle Lemon Packing House Fire
March 11--Oxnard firefighters early today put out a small blaze at the Oxnard Lemon Company, officials said.
The fire was reported about 3:40 a.m. at the packing house in the 2000 block of Sunkist Circle, said Battalion Chief Kevin Schroepfer.
A large shipping area was filled with smoke by the time firefighters arrived, but a sprinkler system had put out most of the blaze, Schroepfer said.
Firefighters finished extinguishing the blaze to a pallet of lemons and knocked it down by 4:05 a.m.
The blaze caused an estimated $20,000 in lemons, which were ready to be shipped, and about $2,000 in the shipping unit and piping, Schroepfer said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but officials deemed it suspicious.
Copyright 2013 - Ventura County Star, Calif.