Boy, 7, Killed in Encino House Fire

A 7-year-old boy was killed and his parents were critically injured early Tuesday in a house fire in Encino that may have been sparked by a wall heater, authorities said.

Firefighters responding to the 4:50 a.m. blaze in the 6200 block of Alonzo Avenue were met by the boy’s frantic father, who had escaped the burning house with his wife and 10-year-old daughter, said Brian Humphrey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department. The boy, however, remained inside.

Firefighters found him in the kitchen under some debris, Humphrey said. He was not breathing and had suffered second- and third-degree burns over 80% of his body.

The boy was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, Humphrey said.

His parents were taken to Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center, where they were being treated for smoke inhalation and burns, Humphrey said. His sister was not injured, he said. The family’s name was not immediately released.

It took 30 firefighters less than half an hour to extinguish the blaze, which caused about $400,000 in damage, Humphrey said.

Investigators later discovered that a kitchen door leading outside the house was bolted and required a key to be opened from the inside, Humphrey said. “We don’t know if [the boy] tried to escape through that route and couldn’t get the door opened,” he said. Fire investigators believe that the blaze was started by a natural gas wall heater in the living room, Humphrey said.

Authorities are also uncertain whether the home had functioning smoke alarms, he said.

The investigation is continuing.