Firefighters discovered a person’s body after extinguishing a fire at a vacant commercial building in Boyle Heights on Saturday morning, officials said.
The fire was first reported about 6:20 a.m. when someone knocked on the door of Los Angeles Fire Station 25 and alerted the crew that a building was on fire several blocks down the road at 2500 E. Whittier Blvd., LAFD Capt. Brandon Silverman said.
Firefighters found smoke and flames emanating from the mezzanine area of the commercial building, officials said.
“They immediately began an aggressive fire attack,” Silverman said.
Eighty-six firefighters extinguished the fire in under half an hour, he said.
“During a secondary search after the knockdown of the fire, tragically, one adult victim was found beyond medical help and declared deceased on scene,” Silverman said. The person’s age and gender were not available.
The vacant building had been the site of at least one fire in the past, the captain said.
The LAFD’s Arson/Counter-Terrorism responded to the scene with a dog trained to detect possible signs of arson, Silverman said.
“We will be doing a full investigation into the circumstances of this fire,” he said.
The victim’s cause of death will be determined by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner.
