Man Found Dead In Sylmar Motel Fire
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – A man was found dead in a burning motel room in Sylmar early Friday morning.
The blaze was reported before 6:15 a.m. at the one-story Sylmar Motel in the 12000 block of San Fernando Road.
Witness Matilda Juarez, who lives nearby, told CBSLA that she smelled smoke, looked out her window, and saw the fire burning at the motel. She and her husband rushed over and sprayed the flames with a garden hose until Los Angeles Fire Department crews arrived.
According to the fire department, crews extinguished the blaze in about 12 minutes, but then found the body of a man in one of the rooms. The victim's identity was not immediately known.
"We're talking with the hotel manager this morning, as well as the occupants that were in the adjacent rooms, to determine who this individual is," LAFD Capt. Erik Scott said. "It appears the individual was alone in the hotel room."
The fire was contained to the room where the body was found, the fire department said. The motel has a total of 18 rooms, and all were filled with guests, but the 17 other rooms were spared of any damage, and there were no other injuries.
"There was a lot of smoke coming from the roof, and I was just worried there were people inside, it's sad that someone had to pass away," Evelin Robles, another neighbor, told CBSLA.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. The room did not appear to have a working smoke detector, Scott said. The building also did not have a sprinkler system. One was not required, however, because of the building's age.
LAFD investigators are working to determine if the victim died because of the fire, or whether he was dead prior to it.
