SIMI VALLEY : House Fire Leaves Family Homeless

Fire swept through a single-story tract home in Simi Valley late Wednesday, killing the family dog and leaving the residents temporarily homeless, fire officials said.

Emergency crews were called to the 1100 block of Fourth Street about 5:45 p.m. Wednesday after several neighbors reported seeing smoke billowing from attic vents, a county Fire Department dispatcher said.

No one was injured in the fire, but officials were still investigating its cause late Wednesday, a spokeswoman said.

Neighbor Jon Gatewood, who said he called 911 moments after witnessing the smoke, said he thought that no one was home when the fire started.

“We were dragging hoses around trying to get things under control when the firetrucks pulled up,” Gatewood said. “There was smoke coming out of the attic vents, which would indicate the fire had spread through the house.”

Gatewood said he watched as firefighters extinguished the blaze and attempted to save the life of the dog, which he said looks like a German shepherd.

“They had the dog out front doing CPR trying to revive it, but they weren’t successful,” he said.