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'Suspicious' House Fire Kills Man And His Beloved Dog
Seal Beach - Damage is $500k to the structure & $20k to contents. No FFs or other civilians were injured. pic.twitter.com/4Nf6RkOf7Q
— OCFA PIO (@OCFireAuthority) April 30, 2016
A fire that has been deemed "suspicious" took the life of a man and his beloved dog in Seal Beach early this morning.
According to the Orange County Fire Authority's Twitter, a fire was reported at 12:15 a.m. Saturday in a duplex on the 200 block of 17th Street in Seal Beach.
City News Service reports around 60 firefighters from the OCFA and Huntington Beach were on the scene, and found a man dead on the second floor as they were fighting the blaze. His dog was also found near him. The fire was declared under control by 1:30 a.m., an hour after the fire was reported. Three other people who live in the downstairs apartment of the duplex were able to safely exit the building.
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OCFA Capt. Steve Concialdi told City News Service that investigators "have determined the fire was suspicious in nature."
Carlos Huerta with the OCFA told the L.A. Times that it was difficult to extinguish the fire "because of the amount of debris in the residence."
One neighbor described the man, who has not been identified yet by police, as "nice" but also said he was "a hoarder."
This description of the man and his dog from the Times report is sweet, and very sad, in case you needed a good cry today:
Jane Parnes, a volunteer with Seal Beach Animal Care Center, a local nonprofit shelter, called the victim a “sweet soul” who loved animals, especially his Jack Russell terrier, Eddie. Parnes came to the scene “hoping to find out that he and Eddie died together,” she said.
“He loved that dog more than anything,” Parnes said of the victim. “He used to carry him like a little baby.”
Seal Beach -Fatal fire in a 2 story multi-family dwelling. 1 male died & a dog died too.Lots of combustibles inside pic.twitter.com/BiVOw5JBUc
— OCFA PIO (@OCFireAuthority) April 30, 2016
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