An early morning house fire fueled partly by ammunition present on the property led to the death of two people and a dog on Sunday, fire officials said.
According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the one-story single-family home, located at 13755 Glenoaks Boulevard in Sylmar, went up in flames around 4:30 a.m.
Two other back houses located behind a cinder block wall in the back of the main home also caught fire, officials said.
As crews arrived at the scene, they could hear ammunition being “cooked off,” which is when unfired ammunition prematurely explodes due to high heat.
“Firefighters could hear ammunition being ‘cooked off’ continuously from the heat,” LAFD said. “[Firefighters] received unconfirmed reports that the house is used in criminal dealings and could be ‘booby-trapped.’”
As of 8 a.m. Sunday, the reports of the home being “booby-trapped” remained unconfirmed.
“The pattern and volume of that ammunition going off sounded like it actually might have been pulled by a trigger of a gun with some human intent,” LAFD Captain Erik Scott told KTLA 5’s Erin Myers. “Versus [the ammunition] just heating up to reach its ignition temperature.”
The remains of a male and a dog were discovered in the rubble of the fire, and a deceased woman was found in a pool on the property, LAPD said.
The identities of the decedents have not been released.
Crews were able to extinguish the fire and declared the structure a knockdown by 6 a.m., about an hour and 11 minutes after it initially broke out. They will continue to address hot spots throughout the morning without entering the structure, fire officials said.
According to LAFD Captain Scott, the firefight was more difficult due to the property having three separate homes on it, which forced crews to fight three separate fires at once.
Several weapons, including automatic weapons and a rifle, were found at the house, Captain Scott said.
The LAPD Bomb Squad responded to the scene to ensure that all of the ammunition was rendered safe, authorities said, and the officers with LAPD’s Gang and Narcotics Division Gun Unit processed the thousands of rounds of ammunitions and firearms at the scene.
Officials from the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety have red-tagged the building, meaning that it is “unfit for entry,” officials confirmed.
“LAFD crews will be working throughout the day alongside fire cause investigators, police officials and the Medical Examiner to assure hazard abatement that allows for a safe, thorough and methodical investigation of the fire scene, and removal of the decedent,” LAFD said.
Police said that the investigation is still in its preliminary stages and that it remains unclear how the incident occurred.
No other injuries were reported.