1 dead after mobile home fire in Newbury Park

A man died after a fire broke out early Tuesday in his Newbury Park mobile home.

The fire was reported at 1:49 a.m. along St. John's Court, a street within the Ventu Estates mobile home park, according to the Ventura County Fire Department. The mobile home is located off Ventu Park Road just north of the intersection at Lynn Road.

Arriving firefighters found smoke and fire coming from the trailer. The sole occupant of the unit, later identified as Walter Salat, 69, was reported to still be inside when the fire broke out.

Ventura County Sheriff's Capt. Trina Newman said Salat used a wheelchair to get around and was unable to escape. A sign outside the mobile home park said the neighborhood is a community housing facility for people 55 years and older.

Crews rescued Salat from the burning structure and performed CPR before transporting him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A preliminary investigation by the Ventura County Medical Examiner's Office determined Salat's death was caused by thermal burns and smoke inhalation and the manner of his death was an accident.

Neighbor Diane Kinnon said others had already called 911 before she noticed the flames. Her unit was spared from the fire, with only the bushes lining the outside sustaining damage.

"I was screaming because I thought it was going to get more houses," Kinnon said.

Ventura County firefighters declared the fire knocked down by 2:15 a.m. and fully out by 3:26 a.m. The investigation remains ongoing, but initial evidence indicates the fire may have been started accidentally, according to fire Capt. Brian McGrath.

The blaze is the second fatal fire in Ventura County within the past week. On Aug. 3, a fire burned a condominium in Oxnard, killing 69-year-old resident Bruce C. Smith and seriously injuring a woman who lived in the same unit. The cause had not been determined as of Tuesday.

Staff writer Cytlalli Salgado contributed to this report.

Jeremy Childs is a breaking news and general assignment reporter for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at 805-437-0208, jeremy.childs@vcstar.com, and on Twitter @Jeremy_Childs.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Mobile home fire in Newbury Park turns fatal