Boy, 4, dies after being pulled from burning home near Compton
A 4-year-old boy died after he was pulled from a burning home Thursday afternoon in an unincorporated neighborhood near Compton, officials said.
Smoke and flames were shooting from the two-story structure by the time the first fire engine arrived in the 800 block of East Lennon Street, according to fire officials and witnesses.
The boy’s mother escaped the home from a second-floor balcony as flames quickly spread, Lt. Mike Rosson of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. Sheriff’s Department arson and homicide investigators were questioning her Thursday night, but law enforcement authorities stressed that such interviews are routine after fatal fires. She was described as “very upset and despondent,” Rosson said.
The mother told investigators that she was resting on the second floor with her son when she smelled smoke, Rosson said. She said she tried to escape down the stairs, apparently by herself, but was beaten back by thick smoke and forced to escape from the balcony. It was unclear whether she jumped or was helped down by neighbors, according to Rosson.
The mother alerted firefighters that her son was still in the house, and they found him unconscious near a first-floor bathroom as flames were tearing through the home, officials said.
Firefighters began administering CPR to the child, who was taken in an ambulance to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, fire officials said. He apparently died of smoke inhalation, Rosson said.
Neighbor Rozelle King said he saw flames on the roof and smoke billowing from a chimney.
“I could see it from all the way down the block,” he said, “because it was the tallest home on the street.”
The flames burned a hole through the roof, which was badly charred. Much of the damage was at the top of the home and in an attached garage.
“When we got there, the home was well-involved in fire,” Fire Department Capt Mark Savage said.
It took firefighters about 35 minutes to knock down the blaze, fire officials said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
As investigators sifted through the charred rubble Thursday night, neighbors lighted a dozen small red and white candles on the sidewalk in front of the home next door. Three women embraced and cried.
Los Angeles Times staff writer Andrew Blankstein contributed to this report.
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