UPDATE Friday, July 29, 12:01pm | Long Beach firefighters said two suspicious devices that appear to be possible pipe bombs were discovered at the scene of a residential fire on Tuesday that ravaged a Long Beach home.
Firefighter Steve Yamamoto, a Long Beach Fire Department spokesman, told the Press-Telegram Thursday that the devices were discovered after the flames had been doused.
Upon their discovery, the Los Angeles County Bomb Squad was reportedly dispatched to the scene in the 1700 block of Rose Avenue. The devices were still being inspected as of Thursday, Yamamoto reportedly said.
The investigation into what caused the fire continues, and Yamamoto told the PT that arson investigators have described the case as an “active criminal investigation.”
Long Beach Police Department Violent Crimes detectives were also reportedly dispatched to the scene to assist in the probe, according to the LBPD.
July 27, 10:30am | A family of three in Long Beach are homeless and their two pet dogs are missing after a fire broke out at their two-story home Tuesday afternoon, fire officials reportedly said.
No one was injured.
The fire broke out at the home in the 1700 block of Rose Avenue just south of Pacific Coast Highway minutes after 3 p.m.
Though the nearrest fire station, Station No. 10, did not have a fire engine in operation Tuesday due to city-mandated rotating “brownouts,” which aim to cuts fire department costs, the station’s rescue unit and battalion chief unit responded within three minutes of the 9-1-1 call, the Press-Telegram reported.
Firefighter Steve Yamamoto, a spokesman for the Long Beach Fire Department reportedly said that the department’s Engine No. 7 responded just after the two units from Station 10 because it was returning form training and just happened to be driving through Station 10’s neighborhood at that time.
The blaze reportedly started in a detached two-car garage and spread to the home by way of the attic, and it took crews about 20 minutes to douse the flames.
Firefighters were able to save the family’s pet African grey parrot, but their two pet Pomeranians, which were frightened by the fire and ran from the home, remained missing as of Tuesday night, Yamamoto told the PT.
The damage was estimated at about $250,000 and includes two vehicles that were destroyed by the fire. The fire’s cause remains under investigation.
The Long Beach branch of the American Red Cross is reportedly providing the family with emergency shelter.