CHILD VICTIM SUSPECTED OF SETTING FIRE.

Byline: Erin Gebroe Daily News Staff Writer

A 7-year-old who died days after his Val Verde home was gutted by flames is suspected of accidentally setting the fire that also killed his teen-age half brother, officials said Friday.

While Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and fire investigators said they do not know how the fire started, they believe that Patrick Crawford was the only one awake when the house erupted in flames shortly after 8 a.m. Dec. 31.

They have ruled out any accidental causes and have found no signs that anyone other than family members was in the Val Verde Road home.

Fire Battalion Chief Mike Sandeman said neighbors' statements indicate that Patrick acted suspiciously after the fire broke out.

Neighbors told firefighters that Patrick, who jumped from a second-story window, ran to a house next door and into the bathtub to cool off. When he heard authorities were on their way, he ran to a bedroom.

``When the neighbors told him that the Fire Department was coming, he went to hide,'' Sandeman said, adding that such behavior is typical of children who feel they might have done something wrong.

In addition, Patrick's age strengthens firefighters' suspicions that he might have been playing with matches or some other incendiary device when flames ignited the family Christmas tree.

``The kid is of the fire-starting age, anywhere from 4 to 10,'' Sandeman said.

The fire started in the living room, quickly spread to the tree and then throughout the house. Patrick and his half brother, Sean Williams, 17, suffered severe burns and died that weekend.

Exactly how the fire began, however, remains undetermined since no incendiary device was found, said Deputy Bob Killeen, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Department.

The Sheriff Department's two-week investigation ruled out criminal activity, further confirming firefighters' suspicions. There was no sign that any intruder had entered the home and the doors were locked at the time of the fire, investigators said.

In fact, sheriff's Detective Ed Nordskog returned to Val Verde on Thursday to confirm that an arsonist who has set small fires in the area was not to blame for the blaze.

Although detectives have yet to interview one of the survivors, Patricia Lynn Martin, they are not expecting significant new information, Killeen said.

``They don't think that's going to yield too much,'' he said.

Martin, the older brother's 20-year-old friend who was living at the house, suffered second- and third-degree burns over 18 percent of her body. She remains in critical condition in intensive care at Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center and still cannot speak, said hospital spokeswoman Adelaida De La Cerda.

The other survivor was the boys' aunt, Dawn Carter, 45, who suffered multiple fractures, including two broken ankles, when she fell out of her second-story bedroom window during an attempt to jump.

Fire Department investigators are conducting their own investigation but are waiting to interview Martin before closing the case, said arson investigator David Westfield.

Sheriff's investigators would not confirm that Patrick set the fire, but in a statement they wrote that ``only one person was known to be awake at the time of the fire.'' Also, firefighters said the boy was up when the fire broke out.

Sandeman, the battalion chief, said Patrick told paramedics he saw the family Christmas tree burning.