Two Children Die in Garage Blaze Accidentally Started by Candles
Two children who were living with their mother in a garage in South-Central Los Angeles died when a fire swept through the structure, authorities reported Thursday.
Arson investigators ruled the fire accidental and reported it was started by candles used to light the garage, said Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells.
Mykeal Ramon Nation, 6 months, and Gregory Nation Jr., 2, died late Wednesday in the blaze in the 300 block of West 106th Street. With them when the fire began was their mother, Hortense Baker, 21, and a man police described as her boyfriend, Arthur Cox.
Police and fire investigators said Baker and Cox were awakened by the smell of smoke and escaped unharmed but were unable to save the children.
“It was a matter of them becoming disoriented and both thinking the other had the children,” Well said.
Baker was arrested by police on a misdemeanor warrant charging defrauding an innkeeper. She was questioned by homicide investigators and later released.
Police and fire officials said firefighters had no idea the children were inside as they fought the blaze.
Officers said Baker told them she had been living temporarily in the vacant structure.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
