Smoke Alarms Save 7 in Palos Verdes; Woman, 82, Killed

Fire broke out early today in a large home on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, killing an elderly woman and injuring seven members of her household, who escaped after being awakened by smoke detector alarms.

Duk Bun Lee, 82, a great-grandmother, was trapped by flames in a second-story bedroom of the Rancho Palos Verdes home and died despite efforts by firefighters to rescue her, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Eric Smith said. The blaze, reported at 12:47 a.m., destroyed most of the 5,000-square-foot house and caused $800,000 in damage.

Awakened by smoke detectors, six members of Lee’s family and a woman believed to be a housekeeper all managed to escape the flames, although they suffered various injuries.

One woman, Hyun Sook Kim, 55, broke her feet and fractured her back after jumping out a window.