**OXNARD, CA **— A quiet Monday evening in the beachside community of Silver Strand nearly ended in catastrophe if not for a high-stakes rescue operation by local fire crews.
At 5:42 PM on February 23, 2026, dispatchers received a frantic 911 call reporting a structure fire at a residential duplex in the 100 block of Santa Paula Avenue.
When the first engines arrived, they found heavy smoke and flames billowing from the garage.
However, the situation quickly escalated when firefighters realized a young boy was trapped on the third floor, cut off from the stairs by the growing blaze below.
**The "Truck 81" Rescue
The rescue was a textbook display of coordination between the Ventura County Fire Department and Oxnard Fire crews.
- **Reaching the Victim: **While engine crews worked to suppress the garage fire, the specialized team from Oxnard Truck 81 deployed an aerial ladder.
- Firefighters scaled the building to reach the child on the third story.
- **The Descent: **Under smoky conditions, firefighters entered the third floor, secured the boy, and guided him down to the second-story balcony.
- **The Ladder Escape: **From the second floor, the crew helped the boy onto a ground ladder and safely lowered him to the street level, away from the encroaching heat.
Medical Response and "Knock Down"
Once safe on the ground, the boy was immediately handed over to firefighter-paramedics and Gold Coast Ambulance personnel.
After an initial assessment, he was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation as a precaution for smoke inhalation.
The firefighters’ aggressive attack on the flames allowed them to declare a "knock down" of the fire at 6:04 PM, exactly 22 minutes after the initial dispatch.
Thanks to the rapid rescue, no injuries to residents or firefighters were reported.
The Investigation
The fire caused significant damage to the garage area and smoke damage throughout the upper floors of the duplex.
As of February 26, 2026, fire investigators have not yet released the official cause of the blaze, though they are looking into whether it originated from electrical issues or stored materials in the garage.