Official Says Burn Victims May Have Started Fire
The cause of a fire that left two North Hollywood men seriously burned remained unclear Monday, but a Fire Department spokesman said it might have been started by the victims.
The men, ages 24 and 31, were standing outside a one-story, single-family home in the 5200 block of Auckland Avenue when firefighters arrived around midnight Sunday, said Brian Humphrey, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman.
The fire in the house had been extinguished, and both men produced identification showing they lived on the block, Humphrey said.
The men, whose names were not released, were in serious condition at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, with burns covering 35% of their bodies, said Paula Meyers, a hospital spokeswoman.
The 31-year-old suffered second-degree burns to his chest, back, arms and neck, and the 24-year-old had second- and third-degree burns on his face and torso, Meyers said.
Humphrey said the fire “appears to have been as a result of an intentional act by one or more persons, likely the men who were burned.”
“The details are a little sketchy,” he said.
Humphrey said the case has been turned over to the Los Angeles Police Department for investigation.
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