Witnesses say barbecue sparked deadly apartment fire
Personal Injury News
Article Date: 7/20/2009 | Resource: MLG
Witnesses say barbecue sparked deadly apartment fire
“Authorities have not ruled out alternate causes for the blaze in which 2 men were killed.”
HUNTINGTON BEACH Witnesses say a barbecue may have sparked the apartment fire in which two men were killed Sunday morning, but authorities have not yet ruled out an alternate cause for the blaze.
Firefighters responded just after 1:30 a.m. Sunday to a fire in the Ocean Breeze Villas, at Warner Avenue and Edwards Street. Fire crews contained the blaze to one unit, extinguishing it in a matter of minutes, Deputy Fire Marshall Jeff Lopez said today.
Once the fire was extinguished, authorities found the bodies of two men, identified by the coroner as Travis McCarthy, 25, and Matthew Danihels, 29, in the unit.
An autopsy of the two men has been conducted, but officials are awaiting the results of toxicology reports before announcing a cause of death.
The Huntington Beach Fire Department is investigating the cause of the fire, with help from arson investigators from the Orange County Fire Authority, an arson dog from Los Angeles and officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Investigators are looking into a barbecue on the apartment’s balcony as a potential cause or factor in the fire, Lopez said, but have not ruled out other sources.
For more information regarding this article please contact:
Jeffrey Marquart
(949)589-0150
jmarquart@marquartlawgroup.com