Watch OnScene.TV early video from the fire
Four young children remained hospitalized Tuesday for treatment of critical injuries sustained in a house fire, which erupted in a Vermont Knolls neighborhood.
The fire was reported just before 11 p.m. Monday at a residential bungalow located in the 800 block of West Manchester Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Upon their arrival, firefighters located heavy flames showing from the front portion of the one-story home, which was largely secured by bars.
One firefighter forced open a window and climbed inside the smoke filled residence to rescue four unresponsive children right before temperatures became unbearable.
Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times:
“Handing the badly injured and nearly lifeless siblings from zero visibility conditions within to waiting colleagues outside, the firefighter was able to escape unharmed before the room spiraled to a temperature that would have assuredly taken the children’s lives,” (LAFD spokesman Brian) Humphrey said.
The children’s mother, who returned from an errand to find her house in flames, watched as paramedics provided care for her severely burned 2-, 3- and 5-year-old sons and her 7-year-old daughter, Humphrey said. The children were taken to a hospital in critical condition.
