Blaze Kills Man in Boarded-Up House

One man died of smoke inhalation and another was in intensive care Monday after a fire in the boarded-up house in Eagle Rock where they were sleeping, Los Angeles police said.

“It appears that they might have set fire to one end of the house to keep warm and slept on the other side,” said Detective John Munguia.

The fire started on a porch on the opposite side. Because the windows were boarded, the smoke had no where to escape, he said.

Firefighters were called to the house on Eagle Rock Boulevard about 5 a.m. but did not discover the men until several hours later, Munguia said. The two unidentified victims, between 25 and 30 years old, apparently were transients, he said.

The survivor was in the intensive care unit at Glendale Memorial Hospital.