A cloud of thick smoke could be seen across San Bernardino on Wednesday, June 18, as firefighters worked to control a fire in a large boarded-up home where one person was found dead.
The fire began around 9:50 a.m. on the 1200 block of North Berkeley Avenue, near G Street. Officials have not determined the cause of the fire, which remains under investigation, San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesperson Ryan Beckers said.
The house was considered abandoned and was barricaded “quite well,” according to Beckers, with heavy-duty metal screening around much of the building. Fire crews used rotary saws to try and rescue a person found inside a window at the front of the home, only to discover the person was dead.
Authorities pronounced the individual dead at the scene “as a result of the fire,” San Bernardino County Fire said on social media.
Details on the victim were not released. It was not clear why the person couldn’t escape, though Beckers said the security screening would make exiting the home “a hazard.”
“Abandoned and boarded-up structures present numerous hazards. A lack of safe entry and exit points, smoke alarms, or in-service utilities makes conditions dangerous for occupants,” San Bernardino County Fire said in a statement.
The fire was knocked down shortly after around 10:10 a.m.
