Firefighters Pull 2 Kids From Apartment Blaze

Two small children left alone at home were saved from their burning Palmdale apartment Friday afternoon by three firefighters who braved the flames. Authorities said their mother, who had gone to work and left the children, ages 1 and 5, to watch each other, was arrested about two hours later on suspicion of child cruelty.

Los Angeles County firefighters said the toddler started the blaze by covering a lamp with a towel, which then ignited. A neighbor reported the fire in the 38700 block of 20th Street East at 12:36 p.m.

When the first engine arrived four minutes later, the second-floor apartment was engulfed in flames and smoke, and “There were 10 to 20 residents yelling that two children were trapped in a back bedroom,” said Capt. Dirk Wegner. He and firefighters Mike Grodde and Joseph McMurray were the first to arrive.

“The tenants were doing the best they could, but there was just too much fire for a garden hose,” Wegner said. “It was just the three of us, and we knew the next unit was five minutes out. But we knew we had kids in there. When kids are involved, it ups the ante.”

With fire burning in the living room between the front door and the bedroom, Wegner manned the hose as McMurray ran through the flames to the 5-year-old girl and then carried her to safety. Grodde raised a 24-foot extension ladder to the bedroom window and pulled out the 1-year-old boy.

“Joe and Mike saved them,” Wegner said. “No question it was a close call. In a matter of minutes, or seconds really, those kids wouldn’t have made it.”

The children were being treated for smoke inhalation at a hospital but were otherwise unharmed, officials said. They also were placed in protective custody.

Their mother, Gabriela Camacho, 25, was being held at the sheriff’s Lancaster station, with bail set at $50,000.

Thirty-two firefighters responded to the call and doused the blaze in less than 15 minutes. Fire officials estimated the damage at about $65,000.