In the early morning of January 2, many people were still immersed in the joy of the New Year, but a deadly fire broke out in Arcadia, a Chinese city in Los Angeles County.
A fire broke out in a house at 5300 Tyler Avenue in Yashi, killing three people and injuring two others, all of whom were Chinese.
According to local firefighters, the two-story house was completely burned down, and the garage and three cars parked in the driveway were also scrapped. Three bodies were also found inside the house, and two others were injured.
According to neighbors, the house was inhabited entirely by Chinese, both men and women. The man is Shanghainese, the hostess is Taiwanese, and the tenants include nurses, government workers, and people who run their own businesses. Ms. Wei, a Chinese neighbor, said that at around 1 a.m., she was awakened in her sleep by a loud noise, similar to the sound of fireworks explosions, and a bit like "bang bang" gunshots.
She rushed out the door and saw the fire raging in the yard in front of the garage door of the next house. Ms. Wei said that when the temperature was low in the middle of the night, when she went back to the house to put on a piece of clothing and came out, the two-story residential house had been engulfed in flames, and soon multiple fire trucks, police cars and fire trucks rushed to the scene.
According to Ms. Wei's information, six people lived in the two-story building where the fire broke out. The owner of the house is a retired Chinese couple, the male owner is Shanghainese, the female owner is Taiwanese, and the couple lives in a room on the second floor. The two bedrooms on the first floor were rented to two Chinese women.
There is also an annex house (ADU) in the backyard of the house where the fire broke out, which is rented to two Chinese, a man and a woman. She said that the two bedrooms on the first floor were rented to two Chinese, a man and a woman, both in their thirties and forties, the female tenant was a nurse and the male tenant was a businessman.
The day before the fire, the male tenant had said he was preparing to move out, so Ms. Wei was unsure whether the tenant was still inside when the fire broke out. There is also an annex house (ADU) in the backyard of the house where the fire broke out, which was rented to another Chinese woman who allegedly worked for a government department.
Ms Wei pointed out that the Chinese female tenant had sublet the house to another Chinese person, and she was not sure whether it was one person or two people living in the back room at the time of the fire.
Ms. Wei said that she and the landlord are very familiar with each other and often walk together, so they know more about their home. She also pointed out that the owner and his wife have adult children, but they don't live here.
Authorities said that the fire had killed three people and sent them to hospital, and the medical examiner's office had not identified the deceased, but described them as two men and a woman. Sheriff Lt. David Hernandez said all the victims were adults.
After the fire broke out late at night, Ms. Wei tried to contact the neighboring homeowners, but she said she never received a response and was very worried about them. Ms. Wei also pointed out that the owner and his wife have adult children, but they do not live in the house.
(There are many Chinese neighbors around the house)
Another neighbor said that an elderly couple lived in the house where the fire started. She didn't know them, but she usually waved hello when they met. The neighbor said they were very quiet and respectable people.
According to the Los Angeles County Police Department, which is in charge of the investigation, the deadly fire was an electrical accident. The fire quickly spread to the attached garage and three cars, the house was scorched with thick smoke, and the fire spread through the corridor to the kitchen and dining area, but ultimately did not spread to any of the neighboring homes.
According to authorities, three people were on the ground floor at the time of the fire. Two of them managed to escape, but one of them ran upstairs to alert the other two on the second floor. Unfortunately, none of the three managed to escape, and the bodies were found at the bottom of the stairwell.