3 Hurt in Blast While Painting

Three men were burned on their arms and faces Saturday afternoon after an explosion apparently was trigged while the men spray-painted a kitchen where a pilot light had been left on, according to firefighters and witnesses.

“I heard people screaming inside,” said 10-year-old Luis Garcia, who was tossing a football in front of the condominium when the explosion happened.

“I thought it was an earthquake,” said Yolanda Hernandez, who lives in the unit next door.

The men were painting the second-story kitchen of a condominium in the 11000 block of Arminta Street and had failed to turn off the stove’s pilot light, said Los Angeles Fire Department Battalion Chief Gary Bowie.

The highly flammable, thinned paint they were using ignited about 2 p.m., and smoke and flames engulfed the unit in a flash fire.

Luis said he heard a “boom” and saw the garage door of the condo fly open and flames pour forth. The boy grabbed his 1-year-old brother, who was playing nearby, and fled to safety.

The three men fled downstairs. Firefighters called to the scene extinguished the fire in minutes.

Two of the victims, a 34-year-old man and a 22-year-old man, were in serious condition and taken to Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley, said Jim Wells, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department. The victims, whose names were not released, suffered second- and third-degree burns over 25% to 50% of their bodies.

The two were later transferred, one to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center in Los Angeles and the other to Kaiser Health Center in Woodland Hills, a Pacifica Hospital spokeswoman said.

A third man, whose name and age were not released, was transported to North Hollywood Medical Center in serious but stable condition and was expected to be moved to a burn center, a North Hollywood hospital spokesman said.

Hernandez said one of the victims is a co-owner of the condo. The other two men were helping him paint as he prepared to move out.

The fire caused an estimated $65,000 in damage.