Garden Grove Woman Dies in Fire

A 73-year-old Garden Grove woman died Sunday morning after a fire swept through the living room of her apartment.

The coroner’s office is still performing tests to identify the woman, who suffered third-degree burns over 90% of her body. Firefighters were still trying to determine what happened at the apartment, but said it does not appear to be a crime.

The fire took only four minutes to extinguish and was confined to the woman’s living room--damaging a couch, a chair, a table and a few other items, said Mike Bublitz, Garden Grove Fire Department battalion chief.

“Nothing jumped out at you,” Bublitz said. “That’s why we’re doing a full investigation. . . . It’s strange. It wasn’t that clear-cut. There’s something that happened in there that investigators have to look at.”

The Fire Department received the emergency call from a neighbor at 7:48 a.m. after he noticed smoke coming from the woman’s apartment. When firefighters arrived, there was significant smoke and some fire, all confined to the living room.

They found the woman sitting in a chair, but they did not know if she had collapsed there or had fallen asleep.

Bublitz said firefighters were familiar with the apartment and the woman, who had lived there for several years. She suffered from chronic breathing problems.

“We’d go and help her out,” Bublitz said. “We’ve escorted her to the hospital on occasions too.”

Neighbor Dong Le, 17, who saw smoke coming from the apartment, said the woman kept to herself.

“She stayed in her room most of the time,” he said. “She never went out. She was an old lady.”

No other apartment units were damaged. By Sunday afternoon, the only sign of the blaze were the boarded-up windows.