Fire Guts Van Nuys Home, Burns 1 Resident
VAN NUYS (CBSLA.com) — Fire gutted much of a two-story home and sent a 56-year-old Van Nuys man to the hospital with second-degree burns on Sunday afternoon, authorities said.
The fire in the 6700 block of Gaviota Avenue, near the 405 Freeway, was reported at 3:12 p.m., according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.
When firefighters arrived, according to CBS2's Christy Fajardo, the second floor and rear of the home were fully engulfed in flames.
While everyone got out of the home safely, the man, who had been sleeping when the fire broke out, suffered burns to his feet and chest, Humphrey said. The home, which was partially under construction, did not have working smoke detectors, firefighters said.
Fajardo spoke to a neighbor who had gotten on the roof of his home with a hose, and could feel the heat from the fire, as nearby residents tried to keep the flames from spreading.
Other neighbors went to warn the residents of the home that it was on fire.
"The two neighbors from the house that burned, they didn't even know it was going on," said Eduardo Sandovol. "I went there. One of the neighbors next to this house, they had their door open, so I screamed and told them to get out because the fire might spread. The other house, I just jumped the fence and knocked on the door and told them."
Humphrey told City News Service that 45 firefighters responded to the blaze, which was caused by a faulty fireplace, and needed 25 minutes to knock down the flames.
The blaze did $116,000 in damage, including $75,000 to the home and $40,000 to its contents, he said. A neighboring home's eaves were also damaged.
Fajardo said firefighters reminded the public to check the condition of smoke detectors around their homes.
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