1 dead after house fire in San Bernardino
One person is dead after a fire broke out at a San Bernardino home early Saturday morning, firefighters said.
The blaze was reported at around 4:15 a.m. in the 6800 block of Elmwood Road, according to a social media post from the San Bernardino County Fire Department.
Firefighters arrived and found heavy smoke in the area. They spoke with neighbors, who told them that an elderly man lived alone inside of the home and that he was believed to be inside.
"Crews immediately forced entry, advanced a hose line, and located the victim inside the structure," firefighters said.
He was removed from the home and taken to a nearby hospital in grave condition. Crews said that he died shortly after arriving at the hospital. The victim has not yet been identified.
"After the rescue, crews quickly contained the fire with support from truck company operations on the roof," SBCoFD's post said.
Firefighters prevented the flames from spreading to other homes in the area and the cause of the fire is under investigation by both the county's Office of the Fire Marshal and the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department's Arson & Bomb unit.
"SBCoFD expresses its deepest condolences to the family and community affected by the fatal incident and urges residents to test smoke alarms regularly, especially during the winter months when home-heating fires increase," firefighters said.
It was the second of two overnight fires that county firefighters responded to. The first happened at around 6:20 p.m. in the 200 block of Magnolia Street, where firefighters were called to extinguish a blaze that had broken out at a four-unit apartment complex. They were able to quickly contain the fire, limiting it to just one unit. A second unit sustained water damage, the post said.
There were no injuries reported in the second fire, but crews said that three adults and one child were displaced and receiving help from the American Red Cross. The cause of that blaze also remains under investigation.