1 Killed, 2 Hurt in Hotel Arson
One man was killed, and two other people were injured early Saturday in a three-alarm arson at a downtown residential hotel.
More than $1-million damage was done to the Las Flores Hotel, a four-story, 50-room structure at 725 4th Ave.
Police said the fire was set in Room 120 at 1 a.m. Police arrested the room’s occupant, identified as William F. Hughes, 33, on suspicion of arson at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
The first firefighters responding reported that smoke was billowing from the front and rear of the hotel, a San Diego Fire Department spokesman said. About 90 firefighters were dispatched to the scene.
Firefighters discovered the unidentified victim’s body in the hallway on the second floor. A spokeswoman for the coroner’s office said an autopsy is pending.
Two people were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and cuts by paramedics, who took one man to UCSD Medical Center.
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