CAUSE SOUGHT FOR SIMI BLAZE : 3 CLUBS WERE MEETING WHEN FIRE BROKE OUT AT COMMUNITY CENTER.

Byline: Alicia Doyle Daily News Staff Writer

Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of a Wednesday night blaze that caused $130,000 in damage to the second floor of a building in the Sycamore Drive Community Center, officials said Thursday.

The fire started upstairs in one of the administrative and maintenance buildings in the Rancho Simi Park and Recreation District center, causing $80,000 in damage to the structure and $50,000 to the contents, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.

The blaze was reported at 7:36 p.m. and about two dozen firefighters responded. The fire was contained by 8:23 p.m.

Three local community groups, including a sign language class, were meeting in different rooms at the time of the fire.

Members of the American Youth Soccer Organization were about 75 feet away from the blaze on a bottom floor in the building where the fire started, officials said. The group escaped without injury.

Michael Kuhn, executive chairman of the Simi Valley Trail Blazers, had just started a slide show on the club's recent backpacking trip when a member noticed sparks and illuminated smoke above the roof of the burning building.

``I was speaking and somebody said, `There's a fire,' '' said Kuhn, whose group was meeting in a room with large windows across from the burning facility. ``I turned around and sure enough, there it was.''

A member of the Trail Blazers immediately called the Fire Department from a nearby pay phone outside.

Once the firefighters arrived, the group went back to their room and finished their slide show, Kuhn said.

``There was no danger in our building,'' Kuhn said. ``It's unfortunate that it happened. But fortunately, it wasn't in a critical area.''

Rick Johnson, a park district spokesman, said he believed the building would have been totally destroyed if the three groups had not been meeting that night.

``They all acted quickly,'' Johnson said. ``If these groups were not here, this place probably would have burned down to the ground.''

The fire destroyed part of the second story roof and support beams, Johnson said.

The blaze also hit recreation and storage areas, destroying maintenance supplies including aerosol spray cans, nuts and bolts, wood and nails. Tennis balls, basketballs and paper goods for craft classes were also lost, Johnson said.

Fortunately, the fire did not get as far as the expensive equipment on the floor below, such as the computer system that regulates irrigation throughout the district, Johnson said. A communications system downstairs also was saved.

Despite the fire, the park district remains in full operation, Johnson said. With an investigation pending and insurance companies making damage assessments, it is hard to tell when the building will be fixed, he added.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1--ran in SIMI and CONEJO--color in SIMI) Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District employees survey the damage from Wednesday's two-alarm fire, which destroyed electrical wiring and part of the second-story roof and support beams at the Sycamore Drive Community Center.

(2--SIMI only) Park district general manager Jerry Gladden inspects the roof after Wednesday's fire, which began on the second floor.

Andy Holzman/Special to the Daily News