Authorities are investigating the death of a 35-year-old man following a fire at his apartment in Long Beach Wednesday night.
Firefighters received reports of the structure fire at 10:22PM on the 500 block of West 7th Street in downtown Long Beach, said Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) spokesman Jake Heflin.
A few minutes later, arriving firefighters witnessed smoke coming from the rear, lower unit of a two-story four-plex and began their attack on the fire. Upon entry of the unit and during a primary search, firefighters came across the victim, Heflin said. They immediately conducted life-saving measures before transporting him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The victim was found at 10:33PM and the fire was extinguished two minutes later, according to Heflin. A total of 21 firefighters responded to the incident. The affected unit sustained minor damage. No other units were damaged.
Police responded to the local hospital at 10:57PM to assist fire personnel with the case, said Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) Sgt. Brad Johnson.
“Officers were advised the victim was deceased from his injuries and that his death was under possible suspicious circumstances,” Johnson said.
The incident resulted in the closure of 7th Street, between Magnolia and Daisy avenues, Thursday morning while homicide detectives conducted their investigation.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Authorities said the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office will identify the victim and determine the cause of death.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to call Homicide Detectives at (562) 570-7244. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or text TIPLA plus your tip to 274637 (CRIMES), or visit http://www.lacrimestoppers.org./
Apartment fire confined to single unit of 4-plex on 500 block of W. 7th St. 1 fatality. FD/PD onscene investigating. pic.twitter.com/ooHCJVFUmI
— Long Beach Fire (@lbfd) June 23, 2016
Above, left photo courtesy of LBFD.
This story was updated at 4:20PM with authorities saying the coroner’s office will determine the cause of death and are looking for information regarding the incident.