Girl Dies, 5 Injured as Palmdale Home Burns

One child died and two others were clinging to life Wednesday after a fire swept through a Palmdale home.

Three adults also were injured.

“They came out yelling, ‘The babies are burning!’” said landscaper Bryan Benson, 44, who was working nearby and was summoned to the single-story home in the 38700 block of Stanridge Avenue by two of the adults.

Unable to enter the house because of the intense heat and flames, Benson and three colleagues stood by grimly as firefighters pulled out the three children, two boys ages 3 and 4 and a 6-year-old girl.

The girl, Rochelle Fuentes, was pronounced dead at the scene, Los Angeles County Assistant Fire Chief Bill Bell said.

The two boys, whose names were not released, were taken by ambulance to Antelope Valley Medical Center and later airlifted to Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles, where they were in critical condition, a hospital spokesman said.

An aunt and uncle of the children suffered smoke inhalation, and a second uncle was taken to Grossman Burn Center in Sherman Oaks with severe burns on his face. All three were in serious condition, authorities said. Their names were not released.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s homicide detectives were initially called to the scene to work with county arson investigators. By late Wednesday, investigators had not determined the fire’s cause.

Benson said he was working nearby with colleagues from his brother’s Quartz Hill landscaping company when the fire erupted about 10:20 a.m.

“We [saw] the smoke coming out of the house,” Benson said, “Flames starting coming and the windows started shattering.”

Firefighters returning from another call and driving along Avenue Q noticed the smoke and headed for the Stanridge Avenue home. When they entered the house, they found one of the adults burned and semiconscious in the kitchen.

The flames had spread quickly through the house, filling it with thick, black smoke, including the bedroom where the children were sleeping, Bell said. The three children were carried to the front lawn, where firefighters tried to resuscitate them.

Neighbors said the children’s grandparents lived in the home, which they had rented for 20 years.

Bell said the children’s parents had a court appointment Wednesday on an unspecified legal matter, but it was unclear if they were at the courthouse when the fire broke out.