The Los Angeles Fire Department extinguished a house fire Friday morning, protecting several nearby buildings, but sadly, one person was deceased inside the home.

A call for service was received at 8:05 AM on December 1, 2022, with reports of a structure fire on the 1400 block of West Hepner Avenue in Eagle Rock. Firefighters arrived to find a one-story home engulfed in flames, with several other structures threatened nearby.

Firefighters engaged in a coordinated attack, concurrently protecting the nearby exposed structures and launching an attack on the burning home. It took 32 firefighters 29 minutes to extinguish the flames. Three occupants escaped unharmed, but sadly, firefighters found one deceased person inside (unknown age/gender).

All four residents had initially escaped the home, but one chose to run back into the burning building for personal belongings, despite the pleas from bystanders to remain outside. That individual never came back out. This serves as a sobering reminder that it is NEVER a good idea to run back inside a burning building. Firefighters want to encourage you to make sure that your living space (wherever it is) is equipped with *functional* smoke alarms to provide early notification of smoke/fire danger. This home was found to be without any smoke alarms. Firefighters also want you to remember to have an emergency plan in place with your family or others you live with, including a meeting location outside of the home, and to quickly get out and stay out, making sure someone has dialed 9-1-1.

Several space heaters were found inside, and are one of the focuses of the fire-cause investigation. Please remember these three things when using a space heater: (1) ensure the cords are in good condition without any cracked or frayed cords, (2) keep at least a three-foot radius of clear space around the heater with no nearby combustibles, and (3) only use heaters with an automatic shut off (overheating or tipping over) placed on a hard, level surface.

LAFD's Fire Investigators are actively trying to determine the cause of the fire. No other firefighters or occupants were injured.