BLAZE DESTROYS SIMI BUSINESS : FIREFIGHTER INJURED WHEN FLAMES ENGULF METAL POLISHING FIRM.Byline: Terry Kanakri Daily News Staff Writer A fast-moving fire destroyed an Easy Street business Wednesday, injuring one firefighter and sending a thick column of black smoke high above the west end of the city. The fire began about 9:40 a.m. inside PROFAB Custom Metal Polishing Metal polishing, also termed buffing, is the process of smoothing metals and alloys and polishing to a bright, smooth mirror-like finish. Metal polishing is often used to enhance cars, motorbikes, antiques, etc. & Finishing at 490 Easy St. and quickly enveloped en·vel·op tr.v. en·vel·oped, en·vel·op·ing, en·vel·ops 1. To enclose or encase completely with or as if with a covering: "Accompanying the darkness, a stillness envelops the city" the business as flames erupted through the roof. Fire Department spokeswoman Sandi Wells said about 60 firefighters battled the blaze for about an hour before it was extinguished. One firefighter, Brian Sullivan Brian Sullivan is a women's basketball assistant coach at Bellarmine University. Bellarmine is an NCAA Division II program that competes in the Great Lakes Valley Conference. This is Sullivan's second stint with the program, following one season with the Lady Knights in 2003-04. , 22, suffered first- and second-degree burns to his shoulder, upper arm and right knee. He was treated and released at Simi Valley Hospital Simi Valley Hospital (SVH) is a Seventh-day Adventist hospital located located in Simi Valley, California. SVH is a member of Adventist Health. New Construction Simi Valley Hospital is in the process of building a new wing to the hospital. . The blaze left the owner of the burned business puzzling over how rapidly it had destroyed his livelihood, but thankful that none of his 20 employees was injured or killed. ``As far as I'm concerned, we can always start over,'' said Vic Depaola of Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks, residential city (1990 pop. 104,352), Ventura co., S Calif., in a farm area; inc. 1964. Avocados, citrus, vegetables, strawberries, and nursery products are grown. as he surveyed the damage outside of the charred building. ``But thank God no one was hurt. I made sure my guys got out of there.'' The fire caused about $400,000 in structural damage to the multi-tenant building valued at $1.5 million. It also caused $350,000 damage to the contents of PROFAB and a neighboring business, Harris Communications and Electronics Inc. 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. officials were still investigating the cause of the fire late Wednesday afternoon. Depaola, who has operated his metal polishing business since late 1994, said he is certain that the blaze was caused by a spark from an electrical wire left dangling from the ceiling. The 52-year-old business owner speculated that metal dust may have entered the the holes of the electrical plug at the end of the wire, causing a spark that triggered a flame of nearby plastic and wood materials. ``I was in my office when I heard noise and I heard a lot of people hollering,'' said Depaola. ``Then I walked in and I saw the fire. I dialed 911 and by the time the firefighters came in here, the whole building was involved. In the three minutes "Three Minutes" is the 46th episode of Lost. It is the twenty-second episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Stephen Williams, and written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. It first aired on May 17, 2006 on ABC. that it took them to come here, the fire spread to the front of the building.'' Because of the fast-moving fire and concentration of smoke, Wells said 40 employees from six businesses were evacuated but no injuries were reported. She also said the Fire Department's hazardous materials team was called out but discovered no toxic chemicals or fumes fumes odorous gases and other volatile materials; inhalation of irritating fumes causes coughing and, if sufficiently severe, irreversible pulmonary edema. . Catlin Industries Inc., a distributor of computer printer parts, also suffered some smoke and water damage as firefighters worked to contain the blaze, Wells said. Kirk Richmond, owner of Catlin Industries, said he and several employees rushed to the aid of PROFAB employees and used fire extinguishers in an attempt to quell the flames. ``It just kept going and going,'' said Richmond, who lives in Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. . ``In 30 seconds, we said, `Call the Fire Department. We're not winning that one.' '' ``I'm very lucky,'' Richmond said, as some of his employees carried equipment out of the building to protect it. ``I could have lost everything.'' For Depaola, however, the fire consumed his entire business, leaving little to be saved. ``It's terrible. Trying to deal with the unknown is the hardest part. How is our insurance going to respond, how are our customers going to respond?'' he wondered. ``We're going to try to determine exactly what happened and immediately try to get some money and be back in business,'' he said. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos Photo: (1--color) Ventura County Firefighters battle a b laze laze v. lazed, laz·ing, laz·es v.intr. To be lazy; loaf: laze around the house. v.tr. at 490 Easy St. in Simi on Wednesday. (2--ran in SIMI only--color) Firefighters check the building's roof for hot spots hot spots acute moist dermatitis. following the 9:40 a.m. blaze. (3--ran in SIMI only) A huge column of black smoke escapes from the building at 490 Easy St. in Simi as Ventura County firefighters move into position. Andy Holzman/Special to the Daily News |
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