The fire broke out around 3:50 p.m. in the 8300 block of Glencrest Drive. Two men were found across the street: a 38-year-old with burns to 46 percent of his body and a 20 year old with burns to 56 percent of his body. Both men were hospitalized in critical condition.
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Aksel Gaspari shot video of the home next door to him engulfed in flames after he heard an explosion
"We heard a loud boom, which was very, very loud, and next thing I heard was my sister screaming. I was in the back so I didn't know exactly what was going on," he said.
Other neighbors said they heard a loud boom and then ran outside to see what happened. One person said he saw two men run out of the house, who both appeared to be on fire, and then they began screaming for help as they ripped off their clothes.
Once the fire was out, authorities determined it was an illegal lab that caused the explosion and subsequent blaze in the garage.
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Los Angeles IMPACT, a task force that investigates drug labs in the county, is handling the investigation.
"What it actually is is marijuana and you take butane, which is a solvent, and you use that to extract the THC out of marijuana. It's a very dangerous process," Detective Keith Honore said.
The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety red-tagged the home the men were renting, and Honore said authorities would be limited in what evidence they could collect.
The victims were transferred to a burn center and will be arrested on suspicion of manufacturing drugs and causing an explosion inside a dwelling.