Fifteen-year-old male twins perished in a Baldwin Village apartment fire early Thursday, Los Angeles city fire officials said.

The blaze in the 4000 block of Ursula Avenue was reported shortly after 3 a.m. A cousin of the pair told the Los Angeles Times that the boys often slept with a candle burning in their closed bedroom because they were afraid of the dark.

Three younger siblings survived. The fire was doused in 20 minutes, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The cause of the blaze was under investigation.

-With reporting from City News Service. Got news? Email us. Follow us on Twitter, too: @dennisjromero.

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