LOCAL : Fire Hits Home for Handicapped

Fire broke out in the kitchen of an unlicensed Pasadena boardinghouse where six of 20 mentally handicapped residents had been locked in an upstairs room, authorities said today.

No one was hurt in the fire, which was reported at 10:12 p.m. Thursday and was put out in 12 minutes, Fire Department spokeswoman Julie Goodwin said. The cause of the fire was not determined, she said. Two insect defoggers were being used in the kitchen when the fire broke out.

Firefighters found that the house at 456 Summit Ave. was being used as a board-and-care facility for 20 mentally handicapped adults. Six of them were rescued from a locked second-story room, she said. The Red Cross was called in to help the residents find shelter, and several dogs and cats were picked up by county animal workers.