Woman dead, 3 others hospitalized after Panorama City townhomes burst into flames

A woman died and three others were hospitalized after two townhomes caught fire in Panorama City overnight. 

According to a Los Angeles Fire Department emergency alert, the blaze was first reported around 3:30 a.m. Saturday in the 9200 block of Wakefield Avenue. 

There were four people inside one of the townhomes, LAFD Cpt. Adam VanGerpen confirmed to KTLA just after 6 a.m., three of whom were hospitalized in stable condition. Two of them were identified as a 25-year-old man and an 83-year-old woman; the age of the third person was not listed. 

A fourth person, only identified as an adult woman, was found deceased in a downstairs bedroom, Cpt. VanGerpen said.

“When our firefighters arrived on scene, this townhome was fully engulfed in flames with heavy fire showing,” he stated. “The fire did spread up into the attic and an adjacent unit, so we have two townhomes that have heavy fire damage, but our firefighters were able to prevent flames from spreading to other units within the complex.”  

Thick smoke was seen billowing into the night sky and flames were seen shooting out of the top of the structure as more than 70 firefighters mounted an aggressive interior fire attack. 

The two residences were red tagged, Cpt. VanGerpen said.  

Crews are expected to remain at the scene for several hours. The cause of the fire is under investigation. 

A woman died and three others were hospitalized after two townhomes caught fire in Panorama City overnight. According to a Los Angeles Fire Department emergency alert, the blaze was first reported around 3:30 a.m. Saturday in the 9200 block of Wakefield Avenue.  There were four people inside one of the townhomes, LAFD Cpt. Adam VanGerpen […]