A 77-year-old man was forced to jump from the roof of his house after a fire broke out early Thursday morning, leaving his wife and adult son dead in South Los Angeles, fire officials said.
"It was a massive fire, and very powerful. Something I've never seen before," said Erin Thompkins, a neighbor.
The fire was reported around 1:40 a.m. in the 4200 block of W. 62nd Street, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Firefighters arrived at the scene and found a two-story home and a garage involved in a heavy fire, according to the LAFD.
Firefighters made their way into the home and found a 74-year-old woman and her 48-year-old son dead.
Witnesses said the son came out of the house with his father but went back inside to rescue his mother.
The surviving man, identified by neighbors as the father and husband of the victims, was able to escape by jumping from the roof of the house.
"The older man was walking across the roof... The fire was right behind him," said Michael Martin, a neighbor.
"He said, 'My wife, my wife is in the house,' and by that time, the house was fully engulfed. There was no way of getting in the house to save her."
The man suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to a hospital, fire officials said.
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"They were just good, good people. It was very heartbreaking," Thompkins said.
The cause of the blaze was under investigation.
Kevin Labeach and Angie Crouch contributed to this report.
