Canoga Park 'Pack Rat' Fire Injures Person and Dog

By City News Service

One person and a dog were injured Monday in a fire in a Canoga Park house sparked by careless smoking, authorities said.

Firefighters sent to the 8100 block of Farralone Avenue at 4:25 a.m. extinguished the flames in 17 minutes, said Katherine Main of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The injured person was taken to a hospital in fair condition, Main said. The fire was sparked accidentally by careless smoking, Main said. The severity of the dog's injury was not immediately known. The house reportedly had "pack rat" conditions.

About the time that the fire was being extinguished, a bomb squad was sent to investigate a report of an explosion in an SUV parked in the 7500 block of Farralone Avenue, the Los Angeles Police Department reported.

The incident was unrelated to the house fire, said LAPD spokeswoman Norma Eisenman. The vehicle reportedly had been parked at the location for some time, Eisenman said. The cause of the blast was under investigation.