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Sunday, October 09, 2011 | 
Security officers at the gated Cameo Woods condominium complex near Baldwin Hills first reported the fire at 11:45 AM on October 9, 2011, bringing a swift response by the Los Angeles Fire Department.
LAFD crews quickly navigated the 27 acre complex to find smoke showing from one downstairs unit of a two-story residential fouplex at 5823 Bowcroft Street. A well coordinated effort by 48 Los Angeles Firefighters confined the fire to the unit of origin. They extinguished the blaze in just 17 minutes.
During fire attack, firefighters discovered the remains of an adult male within the burning structure. Beyond medical help, he was declared deceased at the scene. No other injuries were reported.
According to Battalion Chief Robert Nelson, "the home was fitted with a smoke alarm, which was functioning at the time of fire". He added there were no security doors, window security bars or obvious non-fire factors to impede the man's egress. The 62-year old dwelling was not equipped with residential fire sprinklers.
A positive identification of the deceased man to include his age, as well as the cause, time and manner of his death, will be determined by the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner.
Monetary loss from the fire is still being tabulated.
Dispatched Units: E294 T94 RA894 RA43 E58 E68 E34 E292 T92 EM2 BC18 BC11 E29 RA94 EM14 AR2 AR11 AR39 AR7 RA94 T94 E294
Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department
11 comments:
What was the cause of this fire and why did the man die?
Anonymous 10:03,
Thanks for your inquiry.
At this time, the specific cause of the fire remains categorized by our agency as "under active investigation". The lead investigator handling this incident is off-duty today. I will be checking with him for any update later this week.
The separate cause, time and manner of the man's death remains within the purview of the County of Los Angeles Department of Coroner. Our office has not yet been apprised of their post-mortem investigation.
I hope this information helps.
Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,
Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department
Did he have a health problem which caused him not to run out of there? New this guy wouldn't wish this on anyone burned and dead!
Anonymous 7:20,
Thanks for your follow-up question and concern.
At this time, we have still yet to obtain definitive details regarding the cause of the fire from our lead investigator, who is still handling this incident *methodically* as an "active investigation".
As for the man's specific cause of death [emphasis] - which is separate from the fire cause investigation, such remains entirely within the purview of the County of Los Angeles Department of Coroner, an agency separate from ours.
Though the Coroner has not yet shared any specifics with our media and public relations staff, members of our community are always welcome to contact the Public Information Officer at the Coroner's Office directly for publicly releasable information.
If I can perchance obtain additional information to share, I will be most pleased to do so here with an update. Thanks for your continued interest and patience.
Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,
Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department
Thanks Brian I will wait for your update. I feel really sad for the family this is a tragedy.
I contacted public relations coroners office. Was told arson investigators ruled this a suicide. He was having marital and financial problems. He left premises went to buy gasoline in cans came back poured gas inside home and lit little fires. Must have been seen buying gas and bringing cans in. Coronors office is saying smoke inhalation and thermal burns. This is so sad they said case is closed now.
Is it true the arson investigators ruled this a suicide and this is what happened? Hard to believe someone would do that to themselves must have been very unhappy.
Anonymous 9:47,
Thanks for your profound patience. I was able to reach out to an LAFD Arson Investigator yesterday on a handful of cases, but unable to contact the man who is in charge of this particular case. Please let me emphasize that the only information I'll be able to glean from him is the cause of the fire, and not the specific cause of the man's death.
Anonymous 8:38,
Thank you for pursuing my suggestion to speak directly with the Coroner's Office. I know it can seem awkward to reach out to them, but they can speak authoritatively on the cause of death [emphasis], and answer any of your questions about their post-mortem investigation. As you might imagine, our agency is unable to speak for the Coroner, similar to the way we can't speak for the Police Department. I sadly have no way at the moment to affirm or deny what you've so kindly shared, and welcome our readers to take it at face value.
Anonymous 7:49,
As mentioned above, the Arson Investigator in charge of this case has yet to be contacted by our (one man) office for a formal public declaration. The information posted above was from another blog visitor repeating what s/he reportedly heard from the Coroner's spokesperson.
I apologize for the delay in obtaining our Investigator's corroborating statement. The statewide earthquake exercise on Thursday and other incidents had our office phones ringing off the hook for more than 15 hours, and it is possible that the Invesigator was unable to get through to us.
All,
When I return to duty next week, I'll again be seeking to offer what I can. Thanks for your patience, and for sharing what you've learned and how you feel in such a polite manner.
Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,
Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department
I will wait for your arson investigator to rule this suicide. Still hard to believe. SO sad.
Dear Friends,
Thank you for your tremendous patience at a very busy time in our office.
I spoke at length this afternoon with the veteran LAFD Investigator formally in charge of this incident. He has affirmed to me that the fire was intentionally set, and that the man's death is officially considered a suicidal act.
The men and women of the Los Angeles Fire Department extend their condolences to decedent's family and friends, and encourage all members of our community to become aware of local resources for crisis counseling and suicide prevention.
If there is anything more that your LAFD can do to support the Cameo Woods community, you need but ask.
Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,
Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department
Thank you for confirming this with me. The sad thing is this man and his wife are active in their church why didn't they seek help. This is a very sad story. Thank you for letting me know the outcome so I can put this to closure. I hope people who are feeling alone and desperate go get help.
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