Fire in Home Lit by Candles Claims Three Lives

Two adults and a boy were found dead Friday after fire engulfed a home where the electricity had been shut off and candles were being used for lighting, authorities said.

Fire investigators say the blaze appeared to have been started by a candle burning in a garage area of the two-story home, Riverside County Sheriff’s Sgt. Mark Lohman said.

The blaze erupted about 1 a.m. After it was extinguished, firefighters discovered the bodies of a 39-year-old woman, her 4-year-old son and an 18-year-old male family friend in an upstairs bedroom, Lohman said.

The woman’s 15-year-old son was sleeping downstairs in the living room when the fire broke out. He was unable to get the others out and was treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation and minor injuries.

Lohman said the home had been without electricity since Aug. 20, and neighbors reported that the family was using candles.

Names of the victims were withheld pending notification of relatives. Autopsies will determine the victims’ cause of death.

Moreno Valley is about 70 miles east of Los Angeles.