Fire kills 2 workers trapped in crawlspace
Two men were killed Wednesday afternoon in a fire that broke out in the crawlspace of a Westwood-area house they were remodeling, authorities said.
Capt. Antoine McKnight of the Los Angeles City Fire Department said firefighters broke through the floor of the one-story house with axes and saws but the two trapped workmen had died by the time rescuers reached them in the cramped crawlspace.
Names of the victims, one believed to be about 40 and the other about 50, were not released. Authorities said three other members of the work crew, who were elsewhere in the house when the fire broke out about 1:30 p.m., escaped without assistance and suffered only minor injuries.
Arson and homicide investigators were called to the 1000 block of Manning Avenue north of Wilshire Boulevard but officials said the fire and the deaths appeared to be accidental. McKnight said the fire was extinguished in less than 25 minutes.
Officials said the workers were removing creosote, a tar-like substance used to preserve the wood floor.
Authorities were investigating whether the fire was sparked by a legal but highly flammable chemical used to remove creosote.
No estimate was provided of the financial loss.
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