LOCAL : 2 Killed After Mattress Fire Sets Palmdale Boarding House Ablaze

A mattress fire set a boarding house in Palmdale ablaze early today, killing two men who lived there, investigators said.

Los Angeles County Fire Investigator David Westfield said officials believe that the blaze was accidental. The names of the victims, ages 57 and 78, were withheld pending notification of relatives. The victims were roommates who were overcome by smoke and died at the scene, Westfield said.

One of the eight other residents suffered a seizure and was treated at Palmdale Hospital Medical Center and released, officials said.

The fire was reported about 3:31 a.m. by a passing motorist who was flagged down by a resident, Westfield said. He said the occupants first tried to call the Fire Department with a phone in the burning building, but the fire apparently interfered with the phone lines. That delay may have led to the deaths of the victims, one of whom was an amputee with a prosthetic leg, he said.

It took 17 firefighters to extinguish the blaze. Neighbors and officials said many of the residents of the boarding house in a desert area on the edge of Palmdale were low-income or elderly.

Joseph Harris, a cook and caretaker at the home, said he was awakened by another resident yelling that a mattress was on fire. He said the smoke was so thick that he was forced to climb out a back window.

Officials said their initial investigation indicated that the building had properly functioning smoke detectors.