Eight people, including five children and a good Samaritan, were hurt in an Alhambra apartment fire Friday morning.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said at least two of the victims were in critical condition. In addition to the children and good Samaritan, the kids' parents were also hurt in the blaze, the LAFD said.
Firefighters and paramedics responded at about 8:30 a.m. to the fire in the 300 block of North Electric Avenue. Neighbors told NBCLA that the father and good Samaritan went into the home several times, trying to get the five kids and their mother to safety.
"That man was barefoot. He didn't have on a shirt or nothing, but he ran through glass to try to get to his family," one neighbor said. She added that firefighters later removed children who appeared to be "lifeless" from the home. Another neighbor, Jeff Deno, said two boys made it out.
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Hours after the blaze was put out, the father left a nearby hospital and returned to the home, desperate to try and find his wife and kids. NBCLA cameras captured the man limping as he tried to reenter the home.
"My wife – I tried to save my wife. I tried, I tried – my son, my son,” he wept.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Investigators said they're looking into the possibility that it may have been sparked by the Christmas tree and lights inside the apartment. The LAFD said there were no working smoke alarms in the unit.
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