Fumes Overcome Family Who Used Hibachi as Heater

A man and a young boy believed to be his son were found dead of asphyxiation and a woman and infant were hospitalized Wednesday night after apparently heating their poorly ventilated garage apartment with an outdoor barbecue grill, police said.

The victims, believed to be a Vietnamese family, were found at 718 N. Figueroa St. at 8:30 p.m. by a friend who walked into the apartment and found the man, boy and the woman sprawled in a front room, police said. The infant was found in another room, police said.

The friend notified police after his discovery.

The names and ages of the victims were not immediately released, but police speculated that the boy who died was between 3 and 5 years old. The infant found in a back room was believed to be less than a year old.

The woman and the infant were in stable condition at Garden Grove Medical Center.

It was not known when the asphyxiation occurred, and some neighbors said the family had not been seen for several days.

A Santa Ana police spokesman said the cause of death “appears to be carbon monoxide asphyxiation from a hibachi stove.”

Police believe the grill was being used to heat the detached garage apartment and was not being used for cooking. Temperatures in the area have been dipping into the low 40s during the night. The indoor grill had burned itself out and had not caused a fire, police said.

“Unfortunately, this type of thing is not really all that rare,” said Santa Ana Police Sgt. Roger Scharf.

Police roped off the tiny, tan stucco building as they investigated the incident late Wednesday night. About 11 p.m., as residents of the neighborhood looked on, a coroner’s investigator removed the bodies of the dead.

According to residents, the family members kept to themselves and were not well-known by their neighbors.

“I’ve lived here my whole life and I’ve never seen anything like this,” said an 18-year-old neighbor who identified herself only as Veronica.