1 dies in fire at downtown’s Ventura Inn

One person was killed and several evaluated in a structure fire on Main Street in downtown Ventura Sunday morning, authorities said.

Fire crews were called at 9:46 a.m. to 487 E. Main St. at the Ventura Inn, a longtime fixture for housing in the area.

Battalion Chief Shawn Hughes said one person died in the fire and at least 10 more were evaluated for injuries but none were transported.

He said the Ventura Inn, at the corner of California and Main streets, has 90 rooms of which 89 were occupied. The building is multiple stories with retail shops on the ground floor.

Hughes later said crews were working on an exact number of units that were damaged.

“There can always be challenges with multi-story buildings that are highly occupied,” he said. “Crews did a great job. They did an aggressive interior attack while evacuating all the residents.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Hughes said.

Rhorey Williams, 30, lives on the second floor of the building. He said he first knew something was amiss when he heard sirens outside around 10 a.m.

“The fire alarms were dinging,” Williams said. “They do fire drills all the time, so I thought it was just a fire drill, but then the fire department got here so quick. I heard the sirens, walked out and saw everybody shuffling downstairs.”

He grabbed his wallet and cash and headed downstairs alongside fellow residents of the building. This was the first fire Williams could remember in his five years living in the building.

Williams said he believed the fire originated in Room 315, where an older female resident lives.

“There was smoke coming out of that window,” Williams said, pointing to a corner room on the third floor of the Ventura Inn building.

“I know it is an older lady that lives in that room, but they were saying that she is back and forth in the hospital,” Williams said. “They got a stretcher in there, but there was nobody on it.”

Approximately 60 firefighters were on scene from Ventura city, Ventura County and Oxnard fire departments.

Dominic Massimino is a staff writer for the Star. He can be reached at dominic.massimino@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcsdominic on Twitter and Instagram.

Stacie N. Galang is the news director of the Ventura County Star. She can be reached at stacie.galang@vcstar.com and 805-437-0222.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: 1 dies in fire at downtown’s Ventura Inn