The coroner released the name of a woman who died Saturday in a stubborn fire fueled by “excessive storage conditions” at a Granada Hills home.
Cheryl Frerking was 73, coroner’s Lt. David Smith said. Her autopsy was pending.
“Firefighters combed through the excessive storage conditions inside the destroyed structure after the flames were extinguished,” said Nicholas Prange of the Los Angeles Fire Department. “Fortunately, her 76-year-old husband made it out of the inferno unharmed by the time firefighters arrived.”
The woman was found face down in the kitchen, beyond medical help, Prange said.
Firefighters dispatched at 5:08 a.m. to the 10000 block of North Densmore Avenue had the fire out within 50 minutes of their arrival and reported the single-story structure sustained a partial roof collapse, he said.
“Fire was extinguished on the main floor, as well as in the attic and in the subfloor,” he said. “The heavy fire load, from excessive belongings, intensified the flames to the point that the radiant heat broke a window of the house next door.”
There was no evidence of a functional smoke alarm. The cause of the fire was under investigation.