Fire seriously damages La Cañada home

A home in the 5000 block of Fallhaven Lane in La Cañada Flintridge was seriously damaged and a family cat was killed Tuesday after a fire broke out in a laundry room.

Los Angeles County firefighters responded to a call of a house fire at about 3:40 a.m., said L.A. County Fire Capt. Adrian Murrieta. The fire, believed to have originated with the water heater, burned through the laundry room located at the rear of the house.

It also scorched an adjoining room and the attic, and threatened the roof before being extinguished by firefighters shortly after 4 a.m., Murrieta said.

A family of three was asleep in the house when the fire broke out. The family members, who asked not to be named, said they were awakened by their pet cat. They scrambled to get out of the house as the smoke and flames spread quickly.

One of the family members was transported to a local hospital where she was treated for smoke inhalation and later released.

Firefighters pulled the family’s two cats from the burning house, the family members said. One died, and the second is being treated at an animal clinic.