3 Transients Die as Blaze Sweeps Boarded-Up Bar : Fire: Authorities believe it was accidentally started by an open flame that the men were using to keep warm.

Three transients who were staying in a boarded-up bar in Torrance died during a fast-moving blaze early Saturday that authorities said may have been started by an open flame they had used to keep warm.

The names of the victims, three men in their mid-20s, were not released Saturday pending notification of next of kin. Police said two of the victims were brothers.

The fire broke out at the defunct Key Largo Bar at 17430 Prairie Ave. about 5:15 a.m. The bar had been closed about six months. A chain-link fence was put up around the property two weeks ago to keep out transients.

Intense heat and smoke kept firefighters from finding the three men until their second search of the building, said Torrance Fire Battalion Chief Gerald Goins. Eight fire companies extinguished the fire shortly after 6 a.m. Damage to the one-story building was estimated at $250,000.

“There was a large volume of smoke when units arrived,” Goins said. “The men were dead when we found them.”

Fire and police investigators were at the fire scene Saturday afternoon searching for evidence. “They’re going through the place room by room,” Goins said.

Police booked an unidentified suspect on murder and arson charges soon after the blaze broke out but said later in the day that they consider the fire accidental and expect to release him when they discover the cause of the fire.

The suspect called police to the building just before the fire was discovered complaining that he had been assaulted by one of the men inside. Officers noticed smoke when they approached the building to investigate.

“We believe it was accidental but until the ignition source is found we can’t be sure,” said Police Lt. Harold Maestri.

Maestri said the suspect knew the men inside the building but was not living there with them.