BARDSDALE COUPLE DIE IN FIRE; HUSBAND WAS LEADER IN AREA CITRUS INDUSTRY.Byline: Sonia Giordani Daily News Staff Writer A Ventura County citrus industry leader and his wife were killed Wednesday in a late-night house fire that investigators said may have been caused by a smoldering smol·der also smoul·der intr.v. smol·dered, smol·der·ing, smol·ders 1. To burn with little smoke and no flame. 2. cigarette. Donald Armstrong, a second-generation orange grower who helped open Pacific Rim Pacific Rim, term used to describe the nations bordering the Pacific Ocean and the island countries situated in it. In the post–World War II era, the Pacific Rim has become an increasingly important and interconnected economic region. markets to other area farmers, was found by firefighters in a hallway of his ranch house, in the 800 block of Ventura Street, where he collapsed while trying to flee the 11 p.m. blaze. He was transported to Santa Paula Hospital Santa Paula Hospital (SPH) is a hospital in Santa Paula, California, USA. The hospital is a campus of the Ventura County Medical Center. SPH has 145 full-time employees, 30 shared patient beds, and 19 private patient rooms[1]. , where he was pronounced dead of smoke inhalation Smoke Inhalation Definition Smoke inhalation is breathing in the harmful gases, vapors, and particulate matter contained in smoke. Description Smoke inhalation typically occurs in victims or firefighters caught in structural fires. . His wife, Deborah Armstrong, 47, was found in the living room, and was pronounced dead at the scene from severe burns and smoke inhalation. Two family dogs also died in the blaze. Investigators speculated that Deborah Armstrong may have fallen asleep while smoking in the living room, accidentally igniting the fire. Authorities found no smoke detectors smoke detector n. An alarm device that automatically detects the presence of smoke. Also called smoke alarm. in the one-story stucco stucco (stŭk`ō), in architecture, a term loosely applied to various kinds of plasterwork, both exterior and interior. It now commonly refers to a plaster or cement used for the external coating of buildings, most frequently employed in house. Colleagues and neighbors in the close-knit community south of Fillmore described Donald Armstrong as an innovative businessman and grower, and a dedicated son and father. ``When you live in a small community like this, you get to know all the families so well. This is just such a shock,'' said Linda Haase, who lives on a ranch near the Armstrongs. ``He was a lifelong rancher, a good man.'' Armstrong owned about 200 acres of orange groves and was a longtime director of the Fillmore and Piru Citrus Association, and a past president of the Ventura County Farm Bureau. And for 20 years, he served on the Sunkist Growers board of directors, representing Ventura County growers throughout the country and around the world. Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner Earl McPhail said Armstrong made dozens of trips to promote area citrus fruits, helping to open the Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. pop. 6,899,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Guangdong prov. market to Ventura County oranges and to forge relations with other Pacific Rim markets. ``He was a thinker, an innovator,'' McPhail said. ``If it could be done better, he was for it and he wasn't afraid to take chances.'' Beside his love for the farm, Armstrong was remembered for his passion for the sea. Cecilia Uber of Fillmore, whose daughter is married to Armstrong's son, said Armstrong was an avid deep-sea fisherman who always sought the big one. In addition to his children, David and Trisha, and three grandchildren GRANDCHILDREN, domestic relations. The children of one's children. Sometimes these may claim bequests given in a will to children, though in general they can make no such claim. 6 Co. 16. , Armstrong also is survived by his mother, Margaret, who helped found Armstrong Farms decades ago and later passed the ranch on to her son. ``He was the light of her life,'' said Uber. Deborah Armstrong is remembered as a caring woman who had nursed her ailing grandmother during the last few weeks. ``She had just lost her grandmother,'' Uber said. ``It was her first evening back home in over a month,'' Uber said. Officials said Donald Armstrong likely had been sleeping in the bedroom near the rear of his home while his wife was smoking a cigarette in the living room. ``One of the most tragic things about this is that in going through the home the fire investigators were not able to locate any smoke detector,'' said Sandy Wells, a spokeswoman for the Ventura County Fire Department Not to be confused with Ventura Fire Department. The Ventura County Fire Department (VCFD) provides fire protection and emergency response services for the unincorporated areas of Ventura County, California, and for six other cities within the county. . CAPTION(S): Photo, Map PHOTO (Color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour Conejo and Simi Editions only) (Ran in Conejo, Simi and SAC Editions only) Cecilia Uber, a relative of Donald and Deborah Armstrong, leaves the site of Wednesday's fatal fire. Andy Holzman/Daily News MAP: (Ran in Conejo, Simi and SAC Editions only) Site of fatal fire |
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