By Andrea Klick
Pasadena Star-News
LOS ANGELES COUNTY, Calif. — Three people died and two were hospitalized after a suspicious house fire in Temple City on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 27, and a person of interest was detained, authorities said.
Firefighters responded around 4:49 p.m. to the fire in the 6000 block of Sultana Avenue, near Rosemead Boulevard and Hermosa Drive, where they reported heavy smoke and fire coming from the home, said Fred Fielding, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Three people were declared dead at the scene. Information on their identities was not immediately available, though they were described by authorities as adults.
Two others with burns were transported to local hospitals in critical condition.
The cause of the fire and where it started in the one-story home remains under investigation, Fielding said.
Video from the scene showed some firefighters working on the roof of the home. Fielding said crews opened a hole in the roof to allow heat and smoke to dissipate so that firefighters could see more inside the house.
The fire was knocked down by 5:20 p.m.
Fire Department arson investigators were on the scene, which Fielding said is standard protocol for fatal fires.
After the deaths and injuries were publicly confirmed by the Fire Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on Sunday night said detectives from its Homicide Bureau were called to the scene and learned that as deputies arrived at the fire location, they found the two injured survivors — both men outside of the home each suffering burns to their upper bodies. One was disoriented.
After the fire was extinguished, fire personnel found three deceased adults in the home, the Sheriff’s Department said.
During the investigation, a man who lives at the home approached deputies and was detained as a person of interest.
Broadcast reports said he is 64 years old.
“We believe he might have set the fire inside the house,” LASD Homicide Bureau Lt. Hugo Reynaga said, according to CBS Los Angeles.
Anyone with information helpful to investigators was encouraged to contact the LASD Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500.
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