98-Year-Old Woman Dies After Being Rescued From South LA House Fire
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A 98-year-old woman reportedly died from smoke inhalation after being rescued Saturday from a house fire in South LA.
The blaze was reported around 3:30 a.m. in the 200 block of East 47th Place, according to the LA Fire Department.
The woman's in-home caregiver managed to escape and alert neighbors that Anna Brooks was still inside the house.
One neighbor attempted to save Brooks by going in through the back door, while pulling a garden hose behind her. The heat proved to be too much, forcing her to exit the home.
Firefighters used rotary saws to get through a metal security door and found Brooks laying near the entrance.
She was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.
It took 50 firefighters 18 minutes to knock down the fire.
"A smoke alarm was located inside, however its functional status was not immediately able to be determined," Scott said. "First arriving responders and neighbors did not hear any audible alarms."
Firefighters canvassed the neighborhood where the fire occurred and handed out free smoke alarms to residents, which are also available at Fire Station 46 located at 4370 S. Hoover Street.
Scott said the woman was the eighth civilian to die in an LA residential fire over the past six weeks.
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