Investigators say a dump truck was coming down a very steep street when the driveshaft broke. The truck then rolled over onto the house and sheared a gas line triggering the fire.
The elderly couple inside the home made it out safely. The truck driver is being treated for minor injuries.
More than 50 firefighters battled the flames, keeping the damage mostly to one house on Alcyona Drive. It took them hours to shut off the gas line and put out the blaze.
"It was coming down this hill, it lost its drive shaft, it broke on the way down," said Batt. Chief Dan McCarthy, Los Angeles City Fire Department. "The dump truck rolled over into a small, single-family dwelling. Everybody inside the structure is safe. The dump truck driver's safe. When it rolled over it sheared off the natural gas line, the meter itself."
"I heard all the sirens coming down and ran to the window to see what's going on," said Frank Sinatra, neighbor. "I thought maybe a neighbor was hurt, but when I got to the living room I seen all the flames out my window. My neighbor's house was on fire and a truck was overturned, laying sideways on top of this, their house. And their bedrooms are right there, both of them. Patty and Bob were in the house with the dog."
Firefighters worked into the afternoon to clean up the mess.
The couple escaped without injury and is reportedly staying with some friends. They declined our request for an interview to see how they are doing, but neighbors say they're doing alright.
Neighbors say this is not the first time in recent months that a vehicle has hit the house. They say some time last year a luxury sedan came down the hill going to toward Alcyona too fast, lost control, and damaged part of the house.
The driver of the truck was taken to a hospital to be treated for minor injuries.
