A man was found dead Saturday following a fire that broke out at a South Los Angeles home and sent flames and fireworks into the sky.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said that it responded around 5:30 a.m. to find a detached garage in the 2400 block of 9th Avenue “fully involved with fire and explosions” and quickly put out the blaze.
Authorities recovered large amounts of fireworks from the Jefferson Park property and discovered a man dead, Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Dennis Orris said.
Orris said it was unclear whether the fire killed the man or if he had died before the blaze. He had no other details on the victim, and said the incident is under investigation.
Video of the inferno obtained by ABC 7 shows flames rising behind a home and fireworks exploding above it, while video from OnScene.tv showed an elderly man with a bloody bandage on his leg and a woman with blood on her shirt and bandage on her arm.
Illegal fireworks are a constant issue in the Los Angeles region, especially on the Fourth of July, when residents light up the night sky for hours on end.
Authorities have long tried to discourage the illegal celebrations, which can prove dangerous.
In January, a 13-year-boy and his older brother were killed in a suspected fireworks blast that sent shock waves through a Bell Gardens neighborhood.
At the time, officials said they suspected the blast occurred when someone was making illegal fireworks from their home.
