Autopsy Planned On Body Found In Canoga Park Strip Mall Fire
CANOGA PARK (CBSLA.com) — An autopsy is expected to be conducted this weekend on the body of a man discovered Thursday following an early morning fire at a San Fernando Valley strip mall.
Firefighters say they found the body of a man between the ages of 50 and 60 years old in one of several damaged units in the complex at 7832 Alabama Avenue. The fire was reported to authorities around 2:10 a.m.
The man's identity has yet to be released. According to Elissa Fleak, a coroner's investigator, dental records must be obtained and preliminary reports prepared before the man's identity can be confirmed.
It took crews just over a half hour to put out the flames. One firefighter was hospitalized with a shoulder injury after falling 16 feet off a ladder while fighting the blaze.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
"Right now the fire remains under investigation by the Los Angeles City Fire Department's arson investigators," said LAFD spokesman Erik Scott. "But so far, there is no indication that this was an arson fire."
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