Boy, 2, Burned in Garage Fire

A 2-year-old boy remained in critical condition Tuesday after being severely burned in a garage fire in Sylmar.

The boy was playing in the garage at his home in the 12900 block of Phillippi Avenue about 6 p.m. Monday when a clothes dryer pilot light somehow ignited gasoline spilled on the floor, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Bob Collis said.

“It was more like a flash fire,” Collis said. “That’s why the little guy got burned like he did.”

The child sustained second- and third-degree burns over 60% of his body. His airway and lungs were also injured, Collis said. The boy was taken to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where he was stabilized and then transferred to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. The boy, whose identity was not released, remains in the intensive care burn unit there, hospital officials said.

Firefighters took 12 minutes to put out the fire, which shot up to the roof of the garage and the attic of the home.

“It was a small area that actually burned,” Collis said.

The boy’s mother, Carolina Diaz, 28, was in the frontyard while he was playing in the garage, Collis said. She suffered second-degree burns to her left shin and was treated at Holy Cross Medical Center and released.