A Winnetka man's New Year's weekend took a fiery turn when his Christmas tree burst into flames and destroyed his home. The Los Angeles Fire Department reported that the blaze started on Saturday afternoon and rapidly tore through the 2,159-square-foot residence. According to a statement from the LAFD, the homeowner was alerted by a working smoke alarm and managed to escape without injury.
The fire erupted at the man's house located at 19817 Hatton Street, with firefighters receiving the call at 1:25 p.m. on December 30, 2023. Upon arrival, they found the two-story building engulfed and the owner already safely outside. The homeowner, who has not been named, told fire crews he was alone when the smoke alarm sounded, shortly before he discovered his natural Christmas tree fully ablaze in the living room, LAFD News detailed.
A team of 54 firefighters, under the leadership of Battalion Chief Nicholas Ferrari, battled the fire. It took them just shy of an hour, precisely 53 minutes, to extinguish the flames, which had spread to both floors of the wooden structure. Fortunately, there were no reports of any injuries stemming from the incident.
While the house had working smoke alarms, it lacked residential fire sprinklers, which, according to fire officials, may have prevented the disaster. Post-fire, a Department of Building & Safety Inspector assessed the damaged dwelling, deeming it too unstable for re-entry and red-tagging it as uninhabitable. The homeowner was provided immediate monetary assistance through the California Fire Foundation's 'Supplying Aid to Victims of Emergency' (SAVE) Program and was informed of additional resources available to him, LAFD reported. The man refused services from the American Red Cross, as he had already arranged his accommodations.
This fire underscores a campaign by the LAFD and the Department of Public Works, Bureau of Sanitation, urging residents to remove natural Christmas trees from their homes to lower the risk of fire. At present, authorities are still calculating the financial losses, and the exact cause of the fire is under active investigation.
