Los Angeles Firefighters arrived quickly to discover light smoke showing from a one-story 1,309 square-foot single family home.
Firefighters forced entry through the home's security doors and subsequently a locked bedroom to aggressively attack flames. The fire was confined to the bedroom area and extinguished in less than 12 minutes.
During their search of the fire room, firefighters discovered the body of a 49 year-old woman on the floor. Beyond medical help, she was declared deceased at the scene.
A positive identification of the dead woman as well as the precise cause, time and manner of her death will be determined by the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.
No other injuries were reported.
There were no window security bars or obvious non-fire factors to impede the woman's egress. The 87-year old home was not equipped with legally required smoke alarms, nor a carbon monoxide detector or residential fire sprinklers.
Monetary loss to the wood frame and stucco residence was limited to $15,000 ($10,000 structure & $5,000 contents).
Though the official cause of this pre-dawn fire remains the focus of an active Fire Department investigation, LAFD Investigators surmise that an improper heating device - possibly using charcoal briquettes, may have not only sparked the blaze, but also introduced deadly carbon monoxide fumes within the residence.
Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department
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