Van Nuys : Man Rescued From His Burning House
A Granada Hills man pulled a 30-year-old Van Nuys man from his burning house Wednesday, possibly saving his life as the fire spread to an adjacent building, officials said.
The first man, who remains unidentified, was driving past the fire at 15740 Hart St. at about 12:15 p.m. when he saw the resident running back into his burning, single-story home, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.
The resident suffered minor burns to his hands and back. Arriving firefighters took him to Valley Presbyterian Hospital.
The fire raced up the side of the home and leaped to the roof of the vacant house next door, where it was stopped by firefighters, Humphrey said. However, when they tried to enter the first building to extinguish the blaze, a pile of boxes crashed down on their heads.
It took 40 firefighters 24 minutes to clear a passage into the house and put out the fire, he said.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation, Humphrey said. It caused $150,000 in damage to the house in which it originated and $50,000 to the adjacent home.
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