Manuel E. Valdivia; Police Officer
A funeral service was held Thursday for Manuel E. Valdivia, a Los Angeles police officer assigned to the Foothill Division, who died as a result of a fire at his San Fernando home. He was 27.
Valdivia died early Saturday from smoke inhalation after a malfunctioning reading lamp apparently ignited bedsheets in a guest room, police officials said. When two San Fernando police officers reached Valdivia he was unconscious in the burning room and could not be revived.
Born in Tijuana, Mexico, Valdivia came to the Los Angeles area as an infant and graduated from San Fernando High School.
He joined the Los Angeles police force in November, 1989, and had been preparing to become a detective.
He is survived by his parents, Fernando and Maria Carmen Valdivia of Pacoima; and sisters Carmen Almira Valdivia and Mariam Guillermina Azarte.
A funeral service was held Thursday with burial at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park in the Hollywood Hills. J.T. Oswald Mortuary in San Fernando handled the arrangements.
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