A woman found lifeless in a burning Tujunga home early Tuesday morning proved beyond medical help.

The Los Angeles Fire Department was summoned by the 9-1-1 call of neighbors at 1:39 AM on April 21, 2020 to respond to a burning home at 10788 Las Lunitas Avenue in Tujunga.

LAFD crews arrived quickly to find fire in the front section of a 1,080 square-foot one story home surrounded by excessive personal storage. 

Forcing entry into the residence, firefighters were challenged by excessive storage within the burning structure, as they simultaneously tackled flames and searched for occupants in peril. It was during that primary search that LAFD firefighters discovered and rescued an unresponsive woman from the heat- and smoke-charged home.

A team of LAFD Firefighter/Paramedics quickly took charge of the lifeless woman, and with the able assistance of a Los Angeles County Fire Department (LACoFD) crew that had responded in automatic aid, worked tirelessly in an effort to revive her. The prolonged resuscitation effort at scene sadly proved futile, and the woman was determined dead.

No other injuries were reported. 

Thirty-nine firefighters under the command of LAFD Battalion Chief Nicholas Ferrari were able to confine the bulk of fire to the front section of the home, extinguishing the flames in just 37 minutes.

Due to severe fire damage, the presence of smoke alarms and their functional status at the time of the fire could not be immediately determined. Other than excessive personal storage, no other factors that may have limited the woman's egress were immediately noted. The 64 year-old home was not equipped with optional residential fire sprinklers.

A positive identification of the dead woman, as well as the cause, time and manner of her death will be determined by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Monetary loss from the fire is still being tabulated. The cause of the fire remains the focus of an active investigation.

Dispatched LAFD Units: AR2 BC12 E24 E260 E274 E298 E77 E98 EM14 PI3 RA74 RA77 RA874 T60 T74 T98 + LACoFD

Incident Photo Gallery