A FORMER Fiji resident and her two-year-old grandson have died of injuries they suffered in a house fire in the US.
The funeral services for Lila Prasad, 62, and her grandson Aakash Prasad will be held in San Bruno at 4pm today.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that firefighters responded to a call from the 100 block of Lake Drive at 8:45am last Friday and found a two storey yellow home ablaze.
It said rescuers entered the house and found the boy and his grandmother suffering from smoke inhalation.
Both were unconscious in a back bedroom, where they had been trapped by the fire, deputy fire chief Dave Downing told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Firefighters began administering cardio pulmonary resuscitation on the woman and rushed them to hospital.
Aakash died and Ms Prasad succumbed to her injuries in hospital on Sunday. Seven other family members escaped from the home, with Aakash's grandfather also suffering burns.
Neighbours told the San Francisco Chronicle that an extended family of grandparents, parents and children lived in the home, which fronts on a cul-de-sac.
Mr Downing told the American newspaper a construction crew working on a nearby home saw smoke and began helping victims out of the home before firefighters arrived.
He said they tried to reach the child and woman in the back of the home but were forced back by the fire.
"Their quick action was good in saving at least one person," he said.
Investigators believe a candle associated with a Hindu religious icon fell over in the hallway closet and ignited the blaze.
Aakash's grandfather is still recovering in hospital.
Samaaj Sewa of Fiji USA founder Parma Sharma told The Fiji Times the family was originally from Toga in Nausori.
Mr Sharma said the tragic incident in San Bruno, next to the San Francisco Airport, had shocked the Fijian community living in the area.