Irate Wife Burns Spouse’s Clothes, Sets Herself Afire

A Newhall woman who was burning her husband’s clothing in a barbecue after an argument set fire to herself and her house early today, authorities said.

Linda Sue Dittman, 32, was in critical condition at County-USC Medical Center after the 1:30 a.m. fire in the 24000 block of Chestnut Street, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Tom Davidheiser said. Damage to the house was estimated at $40,000.

Dittman told county firefighters that she had argued with her husband, whom she is divorcing, and decided to burn his clothes, officials said. She took an armful of clothes to the barbecue on the front porch of the house and used lighter fluid to ignite them.

Firefighters said it is unclear exactly how Dittman was burned but that it may have been while attempting to pile a second armful of clothes on the barbecue.

“It flashed, and it got her some second-degree burns to her face,” Fire Capt. Jim Jordan said.

Dittman ran out to the street with her clothes on fire. The fire from the barbecue ignited the porch overhang and some nearby boxes and then quickly spread to the house, officials said.

Dittman’s husband, whose name was not released, was not at the house at the time of the fire. A neighbor who saw Dittman in the street but did not notice the house fire called the Fire Department to report the incident. More firefighters were called after the initial team arrived and saw the house burning.

The fire burned three rooms of the house and smoke spread throughout the structure, officials said. Firefighters took about 15 minutes to extinguish the blaze.

Dittman was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital and later transferred to the burn unit at County-USC Medical Center.

Davidheiser said a Sheriff’s Department arson detective will routinely investigate the fire because it involved an injury.