Calif. Hotel Project Destroyed in Fire

Investigators with the Ventura County Fire Department are working to determine the cause of a fast-developing blaze that consumed a hotel under construction in Camarillo CA, April 12. The fire, which was reported shortly after 7 PM, is believed to have started on the third floor of an uncompleted four-story hotel. Once the blaze began, it quickly gained intensity in the closed wood structure. Ventura County Fire Department spokesman Captain Brian McGrath said the fire was abetted by the lack of fire-rated materials in the structure such as drywall, stucco or firewalls. Fire-suppression systems had not been installed.