Bedridden Woman, 92, Dies After House Fire

An elderly, bedridden woman died Monday morning following a fire that burned her North Hills home, authorities said.

The fire began about 8:45 a.m. at a home in the 16000 block of W. Napa Street, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells.

It took about 30 firefighters around 20 minutes to extinguish the blaze.

The 92-year-old woman, whose name was not released pending notification of next of kin, was found in a bedroom suffering from cardiac arrest, Wells said. Firefighters performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the woman outside the house and in the ambulance on the way to Mission Community Hospital in Panorama City, Wells said.

She died at the hospital, authorities said.

Three cats also died in the fire and a dog and another cat were unaccounted for, Wells said.

The fire, which gutted the kitchen and charred the rest of the house, was caused by careless discarding of cigarettes, Wells said, adding that the Fire Department’s arson unit and Los Angeles Police Department detectives were investigating.

Officials estimated the damage to the structure and contents at $80,000.