One person was found dead inside an apartment complex that caught fire in the Pico-Union neighborhood of Los Angeles Wednesday morning, and officials believe the death may be suspicious.
Firefighters were called to the 1700 block of South New Hampshire Avenue about 3:15 a.m. where they found heavy flames burning on the second floor of a two-story residential building, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey stated in a news release.
The flames were contained to a single unit of the building and were doused in about 45 minutes.
Firefighters conducted a search of the building and found one person, who was pronounced dead at the scene, Humphrey said.
The person’s identity has not been released.
Police were called to the scene to investigate the death, which fire officials deemed “suspicious,” public information officer Eric Scott said.
No further details on why the death was suspicious were given.
Smoke detectors were found inside the 116-year-old building but investigators have not determined if they were working at the time of the blaze.
No other injuries were reported in the fire.