Los Angeles man faces homelessness after fire, home being broken into while hospitalized

LOS ANGELES - Elsea Crumble, a Los Angeles man who suffered severe burns in a devastating apartment fire, is now grappling with both physical and emotional trauma. 

The fire, which engulfed his Windsor Hills apartment, left Crumble with third-degree burns covering 12% of his body.

"The whole ceiling goes up in flames. I get scorched. I try to dive out of here, but I end up getting burned," Crumble recalled of the horrifying incident. "I say to myself, 'What in the world just happened?'"

The blaze erupted on July 14 after Crumble, a food delivery driver, returned home from a grueling 12-hour shift. Exhausted, he put dinner in the oven but he dozed off.

Elsea awoke to find his kitchen in flames.

"That day, I was just a little too tired," Crumble said. "I laid down for a brief rest and fell asleep. Now I’m here in this mess."

To make matters worse, while Crumble was hospitalized, thieves broke into his apartment and stole several valuables, including both TVs and stereo equipment. 

"People broke in, took took both TVs, were taking stereo equipment, speakers," Crumble lamented.

Attorney Stan Pekler, who is assisting Crumble, revealed that the apartment management failed to install smoke detectors in Crumble’s unit despite his request months before the fire.

"Had he had a smoke alarm, it would have woken him up, and he would have been able to put out the fire quickly," Pekler explained. "The landlord never put in a smoke alarm, which is required in every single apartment, in the bedroom and in the hallway. His apartment didn’t have one."

Crumble is now at risk of homelessness, unable to work due to his injuries and living paycheck to paycheck. His greatest fear is ending up on the streets without shelter.

"My biggest fear is to be amongst the homeless in the street and not having shelter," he said.

Friends have launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover Crumble’s medical expenses and secure a new place to live. Crumble has expressed his distress over the lack of assistance from the apartment management. 

"I don’t know what to do, but I hope I don’t have to just, you know, be on the streets. It’s just going to drive me insane," he said.

We reached out to the apartment complex management for comment, but did not receive a response. 

Those looking to help Elsea Crumble can click here for more information.