CARSON, Calif. (AP) -- A house fire early Thursday killed two quadriplegic men and a couple, believed to be their caretakers, who became trapped behind security bars that couldn't be released because furniture blocked the way.
The two men were found in a bedroom in ``hospital-type beds,'' Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Mark Savage said.
The couple apparently tried to escape through a front window after the fire blocked their door around 2:30 a.m., but a release latch for the security bars was hidden by a dresser, Savage said.
County fire Inspector Brian Nicholson said there was no documentation indicating the single-story home was a care facility, though neighbors said a third handicapped man had lived there until recently.
Nicholson said the two men found in the beds appeared to be in their 50s or 60s. It wasn't immediately clear if they were related to the couple.
Firefighters put out the blaze in about 20 minutes in this suburb about 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
