Blaze Kills 1 Woman, Injures 1

One woman died and another was injured in a fire near Exposition Park on Thursday night, according to Los Angeles Fire Department officials.

Both women were in an upstairs apartment in the 400 block of West 52nd Street when the blaze broke out shortly after 9 p.m., blocking the exit down the front stairs.

One woman fled to a bedroom and escaped from a balcony, said Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.

The other ran into the bathroom, where she was apparently trapped.

Flames were pouring from both top-floor units when firefighters arrived and began extinguishing the blaze from inside the building and the roof. Once inside, they found one woman dead in the bathtub.

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office did not release the name of the dead woman because her relatives had not been notified.

Her death, however, illustrates the importance of having fire alarms that work and an exit strategy, said Battalion Chief Mike Arguettes. There was a fire alarm at the apartment, but it was unknown whether it was working.

“This fire makes it clear that practicing exit drills in the home must be an essential part of every family’s survival plan,” Arguettes said in a statement.

Also, fleeing into the bathroom during a fire is a common mistake, Humphrey said.

“You get in the tub because it’s usually the farthest away from the fire,” he said. But windows in most bathrooms are usually too small to allow people to exit.

“Many people think if [they] go and stand in the shower and turn it on they’ll survive,” he said. “They don’t realize it’s the smoke and heat that’s deadly, even if the fire doesn’t touch them.

“You need a warning, a weapon -- meaning a fire extinguisher -- and a way out,” he said.

Firefighters found the woman who survived lying on the sidewalk outside the building. She was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in serious condition with burns on her hands and possible complications from smoke inhalation.

A firefighter also was injured. He was taken to Sherman Oaks Hospital in good condition with first-degree burns to his hand.

The fire caused an estimated $60,000 damage.