Man, Dog Killed In 'Suspicious' Seal Beach Duplex Fire
SEAL BEACH (CBSLA.com) — One man and his dog were killed in a two-alarm blaze that destroyed a duplex in Seal Beach Saturday morning that was determined to be "suspicious in nature," according to an Orange County Fire Authority spokesman.
The fire inside the two-story duplex in the 200 block of 17th Street was well-involved when firefighters responded to the scene at 12:15 a.m., according to OCFA Capt. Steve Concialdi.
"Firefighters found one man dead in the second floor apartment as they were battling the fire," Concialdi said. "The man's dog was found nearby him dead as well."
On Saturday evening, officials identified the deceased as John Donnelly, 67.
"There were three other people living in the downstairs apartment but they were able to get out of the duplex safely," Concialdi said.
About 60 firefighters from the OCFA and Huntington Beach battled the blaze, Concialdi said. A knockdown was declared at 1:35 a.m., more than an hour after the fire was first reported.
Seal Beach police evacuated nearby houses because of the amount of flames and smoke coming from the home, he added.
No other injuries were reported.
"Our fire investigators have determined the fire was suspicious in nature," Concialdi said early Saturday morning. "The inspectors and Seal Beach police remain at the scene and are examining the building."
The fire did an estimated $500,000 damage to the duplex's structure and about $20,000 damage to its contents, Concialdi added.
Saturday evening, CBS2's Jeff Nguyen spoke to Donnelly's grieving neighbors.
When firefighters arrived on scene, they found some of those neighbors trying to douse the flames, valiantly, with garden hoses.
The neighbors dropped off flowers and candles in Donnelly's memory.
"He was always talking about doing thing for other people," said friend Art Guerin.
"Everyone knew who he was and you saw him around every day walking his dog," said Christian Pogue.
"Everybody knows how much he loves his dog," said neighbor Alex Dominguez, "it's like a son to him."
(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)