VIDEO: Officials said a woman was found dead as crews knocked down a house fire in Pasadena on Saturday morning. Pasadena firefighters were called to a house fire in the 1500 block of Lacashire Place, located off the intersection of Lida Street and Wellington Avenue, around 6:25 a.m. The area is located northwest of the Rose Bowl. By the time crews arrived, the house was already engulfed in flames, officials said. Neighbors identified the victim as a woman who lived alone and used a cane to walk. Brothers Kaius, 10, and Dash Menheim, 8, who live next door, said they woke to the smell of smoke.
“We walked outside and were like, oh my gosh โ thereโs flames over there,” Kaius said. “So we ran to our parentsโ room and said, thereโs a fire, thereโs a fire, thereโs a fire! So we grabbed all our stuff.” Dash added, “I was really scared โ it was quite chaotic.” Pasadena Police Chief Chad Augustin said hoarding conditions inside the home made it difficult for firefighters to get through and may have prevented the woman from escaping. “There was not a clear path to exit, and when you wake up and itโs smoky, and the house is on fire, itโs easy to get disoriented,” Augustin said. “If you canโt see and you donโt have a clear way to get out of your house, itโs really tough.”
