The Brief
- A 13-year-old helped stop a fire after spotting flames outside his Sherman Oaks home and alerting his family, who began putting out the blaze before firefighters arrived.
- Surveillance video captured a person igniting a fire next to two homes before walking away, and neighbors are working to gather additional footage to help identify the suspect.
- Neighbors said homelessness and related public safety concerns have worsened in the area and fear the fire could have ended in tragedy.
LOS ANGELES – A fire that a homeless man is seen setting next to two homes on a quiet residential street in Sherman Oaks was captured on a neighbor’s security camera, coming dangerously close to the houses before a 13-year-old’s quick thinking helped stop it.
The blaze broke out just after 3 a.m. on Hebsy Street, off Van Nuys Boulevard. Surveillance video shows a person pushing a cart down the street, stopping in front of one of the homes, lighting something and then fleeing with the cart as a ball of flames erupts behind the person.
Myron Tkechenko, 13, said a crack in his window and the sound of crackling woke him.…