Woman Killed, 12 Displaced After Calif. Apt. Fire

Jan. 27--The Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office has identified a woman killed in a Thousand Oaks apartment fire as Josette Trumpy, 59. Ventura County Deputy Medical Examiner Craig Stevens said an autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow.

Alerted by the sounds of breaking glass before dawn Thursday, witnesses saw flames roaring out of a third-story Thousand Oaks apartment.

Bystanders and public safety officers from nearby California Lutheran University helped evacuate the complex and kept the flames in check until Ventura County firefighters arrived.

After firefighters beat back the blaze, they found a woman dead in her burning apartment, but no other injuries were reported, officials said.Only one apartment burned, although fire officials said up to 12 people could be displaced due to water and smoke damage in other units.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation, officials said.

The victim's name was not released, because authorities were still trying to contact next of kin. An autopsy to determine the cause of her death was scheduled for Friday.

The blaze was reported about 3 a.m. at a large apartment complex near West Olsen Road and Mountclef Boulevard, across the street from CLU.

Deanna Rodriguez, a public safety officer for CLU, was on patrol when she saw smoke coming from the apartment, called 911, radioed for help and headed to the scene, said Karin Grennan, a spokeswoman for the university.

The other CLU officer who responded, Mike McNay, said many people at the complex were asleep when he and Rodriguez arrived. They began knocking on doors to alert residents, and the few already awake were doing the same, he said.

The complex's manager, Mark Capell, said he heard the popping sound of windows breaking at 3 a.m. He grabbed an emergency hose and began dousing the fire, but it was too hot to get directly in front of the burning apartment, he said.

With the help of a bystander, McNay sprayed the blaze from another side of the apartment, he said.

Other bystanders helped pass the hose and assisted one another as residents grabbed possessions and evacuated, he said.

"They were basically squirting from both sides, keeping it from spreading laterally until fire guys got there," said Battalion Chief Steve Francis of the Ventura County Fire Department.

One resident, Alex McBride, 21, said she awoke to the sounds of glass breaking and yelling, grabbed her two cats and ran to a courtyard where people in bathrobes and pajamas were watching the flames.

"They were roaring out of the window," McBride, a CLU student, said of the flames.

Coincidentally, firefighters had done some routine fire planning at the complex the day before, which helped them quickly battle the blaze Thursday, said county fire Capt. Brian Dilley, one of those who responded.

The bystanders did the best they could without protective clothing and stopped the fire from spreading, Dilley agreed.

Firefighters found the victim dead in the front room of her small apartment. Her bedroom door was closed, and that room didn't burn at all, Dilley said.

Firefighters knocked down the flames in about 30 minutes, officials said.

Hours later, a faint smell of smoke lingered as American Red Cross volunteers interviewed displaced people about their needs and offered help. Apartment management put displaced families up in hotels.

Officials said it appeared the woman lived alone in her unit. Some neighbors said they rarely saw her.

She was not a student at CLU, Grennan said.

McBride, who lives near the woman, recalled her as a nice, polite person. McBride said she helped the woman a few times with her groceries, adding she had some trouble walking.

Neighbors said the woman smoked, and some wondered if cigarettes played a role in the fire.

It was unclear if the apartment had a working smoke detector, officials said.

Capell said all the apartments' smoke alarms were checked in November.