1 Killed, Another Injured in Gateway House Fire

An intense fire destroyed a home in Norwalk on Friday, killing a 58-year-old man and leaving another hospitalized with smoke inhalation.

The blaze inside a two-story home in the 10800 block of Van Ruiten Street was reported at 3:08 a.m. and extinguished at 4:14 a.m., said Los Angeles County fire Inspector Randall Wright. The cause of the fire was under investigation. A damage estimate was not immediately available.

The fire was so intense that it caused the roof of the home to collapse, Wright said.

Once the fire was out, firefighters found the burned body of the victim, who was identified as Kurtis Ruprecht, according to sheriff’s Sgt. Vincent Plair. His cause of death will be determined by the coroner’s office.

A man believed to be Ruprecht’s twin brother was taken to a hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation, according to firefighters and reports from the scene.

Firefighters were “challenged” by the roof’s collapse, and by several explosions inside the home caused by oxygen cylinders ignited by the flames, Wright said. No firefighters were injured, he said.

The death was being investigated by Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau detectives.

--City News Service, photo via Shutterstock