Sun Valley Apartment Fire : Boy Burned Trying to Rescue Brother

A 9-year-old Sun Valley boy was seriously burned Friday when he ran back inside a burning apartment to search for his brother, who had already escaped, a family member said.

Lucio Acedo was in serious but stable condition at Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles with burns over 45% of his body, including third-degree burns on one arm, his face and neck, authorities said.

The boy’s parents, five brothers and sisters, and a woman who lived next door were left homeless by the 3:30 a.m. fire in the two-bedroom apartment in the 8000 block of De Garmo Avenue, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

The cause of the fire had not been determined, but investigators said there may have been a short in a space heater in one of the bedrooms. However, family members said, the heater was broken and was not plugged in.

The fire occurred in a single-story L-shaped building containing four apartments. Family members said that there were no smoke detectors in the apartment and that Lucio and his brothers Ernesto, 10, and Eric, 12, awoke to find flames and smoke engulfing their bedroom.

The brothers began yelling to wake their parents, Eric Acedo Sr., 30, and Alice Vargas-Acedo, 29, and sisters Priscilla, 13; Kristina, 1 1/2, and Darlene, 8 months, said Elizabeth Vargas, Alice Vargas-Acedo’s sister, the family’s spokeswoman.

“It was very smoky and dark, and they all were yelling and trying to get out,” Vargas said.

The family ran out of the apartment as did about 12 residents from the other apartments in the building, Vargas said. In the smoke and confusion, Lucio thought that his brother Eric had not made it out, Vargas said. However, Eric had already run into the street where Lucio could not see him.

“He got out and didn’t see his brother, so he ran back in to get him out,” Vargas said. “He got caught inside, and that’s when he got burned.”

The boy’s father rushed into the home and pulled his son out, she said.

Lucio was taken by helicopter to Childrens Hospital while the other family members were treated for smoke inhalation and released at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank and Pacifica Hospital of the Valley in Sun Valley, authorities said.

The 35-year-old woman, who lived in an adjoining apartment, was treated for smoke inhalation at Pacifica Hospital. Authorities could not immediately identify her.

Jim Williamson, a Fire Department spokesman, said the Acedos’ apartment was gutted by the blaze, which also damaged the attic of the adjoining apartment. Damage to the building was estimated at $70,000.

Vargas said her sister’s family lost all of their possessions, including Christmas presents that had been wrapped and placed under a decorated tree. The family, which had no insurance to cover the loss, plans to stay temporarily with relatives, she said.

“They have nothing left for Christmas, or even after,” she said. “They don’t know what they are going to do, but right now they are just worried about Lucio.”