explosion firegeezer on 31 Mar 2008 12:15 pm
Thief Causes Fire That Kills Him
Updated, 4 pm
AN EXPLOSION AND FIRE IN EL MONTE, CALIFORNIA, has been attributed to a thief who was trying to steal some copper wiring.
The Associated Press reports:
Los Angeles fire Inspector Frank Garrido says crews responded to a reported explosion Monday morning and found a large, one-story commercial building on fire. They put out the blaze in about 15 minutes.
Garrido says crews found the unidentified victim’s body by an electrical vault and believe he was involved in an attempt to steal copper wire.
He did not know if the victim was electrocuted, or if he died from the explosion and fire.
Update: The Los Angeles Times has a few new details released from the police:
Firefighters discovered the man’s body after they responded to reports of smoke at 12114 East Garvey Ave. shortly after 6:15 a.m. They extinguished the fire within about 15 minutes and then found the dead man in a small room containing an electrical panel that appeared to have been tampered with, said Los Angeles fire Inspector Frank Garrido. The man was not carrying identification, Garrido said, and had not been identified this morning.
“It appeared that he was tampering with the electrical wire and something set off a spark which created a fire,” said El Monte Police Lt. Dan Burlingham. He also said it was possible that the man had been electrocuted before the fire started.
El Monte police have investigated several recent incidents of copper wire thefts in the area, Garrido said. But he said the Fire Department has not seen any recent fires related to copper wire thefts.
