Couple Killed in House Fire Near Lancaster

Claire and Barbara Ludwig, both disabled and unable to walk without assistance, died when their house near Lancaster caught fire, a blaze apparently sparked by a smoldering cigarette, officials said Friday.

The couple’s caretaker, Jack Hamilton, managed to escape barefoot from a back bedroom, and said the intense heat of the blaze forced him to abandon an attempt to rescue the couple. Three teams of firefighters also tried to enter the house, but had to retreat.

Barbara Ludwig, 67, was in bed asleep when the fire broke out just before 10:45 p.m. By the time she awoke, it was already too late, Hamilton said. She suffered a stroke about seven years ago and was partially paralyzed. Her wheelchair was outside, where it had been moved when the house was cleaned hours earlier, he said.

“She was hollering a lot, saying ‘Jack! Jack!’ ” a distraught Hamilton said Friday. “I couldn’t get to them--it was too hot. I had a T-shirt on. Oh man, what a tragedy.”

In a preliminary inquiry, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department arson investigators determined the fire probably was accidentally ignited by a cigarette, said Deputy Bob Killeen. No other details were released.

Hamilton said he saw Claire Ludwig, 69, smoking on the living room couch shortly before the flames broke out. The living room was completely gutted by the blaze, which charred most of the Ludwigs’ small brown stucco house at 43064 42nd St. W.

Claire Ludwig, a retired carpenter, recently underwent hip surgery used a walker to move around. He often drank in the evening and spent nights on the couch, Hamilton and neighbors said.

The fire was reported at 10:45 p.m., and crews had it under control within a half-hour, said Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector Ed Loney. The blaze caused an estimated $80,000 in damage to the Ludwigs’ single-story home and its contents.

Fire investigators initially reported that the Ludwigs’ home had no fire detectors. However, Hamilton said he had changed a smoke detector’s battery less than a month ago, and heard the alarm squealing Thursday night.

Clifford and Muriel Wachlin, who live next door and called the Fire Department on Thursday night, said they weren’t surprised to hear smoking might be to blame.

About a year ago, Claire Ludwig dozed off with a lit cigarette and set the living room carpet on fire, the Wachlins said, but woke up in time to snuff out the flames. The Ludwigs’ caretaker confirmed the incident.

“We’ve always been concerned, because they smoked a lot. I mean a lot,” Muriel Wachlin said. “Once in a while, she would ask me to do her fingernails. I had to wear a mask whenever I went over there, the smoke was bad.”

The Ludwigs’ home was tucked away in a secluded neighborhood west of Lancaster, accessible only by dirt road. They were a quiet couple who had rarely ventured outside since Barbara Ludwig suffered her stroke, the Wachlins and other neighbors said.

Hamilton said he became the Ludwigs’ live-in caretaker about eight months ago, after they hired him to make some repairs around the house.