BRIEF

Andrea Woodhouse

Nov. 5, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- A Manhattan Beach man rescued his bed-ridden neighbor from an early-morning fire today, officials said.

The man ran into the home burning next door in the 3000 block of Oak Street and pulled the elderly woman from her bedroom, where the fire had started about 2:10 a.m., said Manhattan Beach fire Battalion Chief John Weber.

"A neighbor hears the commotion and carries the woman out to the doorway," he said. "This was before the fire even started rolling up."

The man's name was not immediately available.

A caregiver and the woman's adult disabled son managed to escape the fire, but apparently left behind the woman in a hospital bed.

Manhattan Beach firefighters, joined by crews from Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach, knocked down the blaze in about five minutes, Weber said.

The fire was contained to the woman's room, but likely caused up to $70,000 in damage, he said.

Investigators are working today to determine the fire's cause.

Weber said the two women were taken to Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance for treatment of smoke inhalation. Also, the elderly woman had a small head injury.

andrea.woodhouse@dailybreeze.com

Newstex ID: KRTB-1009-39470862