Man Arrested in Glendale Fire That Killed 7 in Family : A Family Perishes
A mother and her six children were killed in their Glendale apartment early Tuesday by a fire police said was set intentionally by the children’s father, Jorjik Avanesian. Police said the motive was a long-standing domestic dispute.
The Chronology:
* Explosion awakes about 120 tenants with a shock they describe as feeling like an earthquake.
* Amid smoke and near panic, residents evacuate through front and back exits, and over balconies.
* Witnesses see Avanesian, with hands burned, run away from the building, they later tell police.
* For a minute, neighbors awakened by the blast hear screams from the Avanesians’ first-floor apartment, then silence.
* Fire fighters stop the blaze from spreading to other apartments but find seven victims inside. The youngest is sent to a hospital but pronounced dead on arrival.
Location of bodies: Three in bathtub, one beside bathtub, three in bedroom. A red dot represents a body.
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