Christine Kim

Boy, 8, and Woman, 64, Killed in Leimert Park House Fire

Four others were taken to the hospital.

An 8-year-old boy and a 64-year-old woman are dead after a house fire in Leimart Park Sunday morning.

Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene.

The fire erupted at approximately 11 a.m. on the 3900 block of 2nd Avenue, near West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, in Leimert Park. Firefighters say they were returning from another fire when they saw smoke coming out from the one story home.

Ultimately, a total of 50 firefighters put out the flames within 22 minutes according to authorities.

Talitha Marsette lives in the house that caught fire.

Marsette identified the 8-year-old boy as her son, Charles James Jr. She said she was out of the house getting medicine for her son when the blaze erupted. She said the 64-year-old woman who died was her mother. 

A 13-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl escaped uninjured. Those are Marsette's other two children.

An 83-year-old woman was hospitalized in "fair condition" for their injuries, authorities said. She was rescued out of the window, according to authorities.

The cause of death for the two people killed has not yet been determined.

According to City News Services, the Red Cross will be helping those displaced by the fire find temporary housing.

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