SHERMAN OAKS - An "Armenian Christmas" gathering resulted in tragedy for one family in the San Fernando Valley, as they witnessed their Christmas Tree and almost their entire home, go up in flames. One Firefighter was injured.

January 6, 2012 marked Christmas Day for millions of Orthodox Christians the world-over, including our Armenian neighbors - some of which still follow the ancient Julian Calendar and widely consider that date (also referred to as "Little Christmas"), the original Christmas Day.

Tonight, while in the midst of a their familial, religious celebration, one member of an Armenian Family ran into their living room, frightened by the sound of smoke alarms. In that instant, it was already too late. Their massive 20 foot, fully-decorated Christmas Tree was now fully-engulfed in flames. An attempt was made by the homeowner to extinguish the fire with a quickly-drawn garden hose, but that proved to be ineffective. Each family-member then witnessed this horror as they rushed from the home to safety.

At 7:09 pm, the Los Angeles Fire Department was summoned to a reported "Structure Fire" at 5049 North Matilija Avenue to this normally peaceful neighborhood on what should have been a "silent night." First arriving resources encountered "smoke showing" from a 5,500 square-foot, two-story residence. Upon entry into the home, Firefighters made their way to the second floor with hoselines, as the tree had burned completely and already extended up the foyer. The fire on the second floor was quickly extinguished, but not before it found its way up into the large attic space.

The "compartmentalized attic" proved to be challenging, as Firefighters had to chase this pesky fire into small areas of the attic by cutting through several plywood walls. Full-extinguishment was ultimately achieved in one hour and two minutes but not before one Firefighter was treated and transported to a local hospital, having sustained minor injuries during firefighting operations.

Battalion Chief Pete Benesch ran a very well-orchestrated fire and the tireless efforts by all 60 on-scene personnel, helped prevent further damage to this beautiful home, built just three years ago. Despite the mighty efforts by your LAFD, this family had to spend their Christmas Night elsewhere, as a result of the fire-related damage.

Dollar-loss estimates were not yet available and the exact cause of the blaze that ignited the tree, will be a subject of the investigation.

Please let the very unfortunate losses of this family on their Christmas Night, serve as a reminder to all... if you have not yet removed your Christmas Tree from your home, please do so quickly and safely.

And if you do celebrate Christmas today, the LAFD wishes you and your family a very Blessed Christmas Day.

Dispatched Units:
E102 E39 T39 E239 RA39 RA78 EM14 BC14 E60 E88 DC3 E278 T78 SQ21
BC10 RA88 RA102 E89 E227 T27 SQ21 BC12 RA73 EM15 RA102 T60 E260


Submitted by Matt Spence, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department