Body Discovered After Blaze at Apartments

A disgruntled tenant may have set fire to his former apartment complex in North Hollywood on Monday and then died in the early morning blaze amid plastic bottles containing gasoline, authorities said.

No one else was injured in the fire, but at least 100 residents of the 47-unit building were forced to seek shelter Monday night at the homes of family and friends and at a temporary Red Cross shelter inside the North Hollywood High School gymnasium.

The body found inside was burned so badly that it could not be identified, said investigators, who found numerous soda bottles and plastic containers of gasoline inside the complex.

“These people are very, very lucky,” Los Angeles Battalion Chief Roger Gillis said. “[The arsonist’s] intent was to burn this building down, not just the one apartment. There are signs of gas everywhere.”

Had the gasoline ignited in the hallway of the four-story building, he said, people could have been trapped in their apartments.

“This fire had tremendous potential, as much as I’ve seen in a long time,” said Gillis, praising the 100 firefighters who extinguished the flames in 29 minutes, despite heavy smoke.

Residents, many of whom were still in their pajamas and robes Monday afternoon, may have to wait a day or two before county health workers allow them to return to the complex at 12411 Magnolia Blvd.

Firefighters said the carpets on the second and third floors were soaked with gasoline and the flammable liquid was in the garage.

The fire was contained to a second-floor studio apartment, where authorities discovered the burned body on a couch. Authorities said they believe that the body could be that of the arsonist, a tenant who had recently been evicted.

“I’ve learned not to make assumptions,” Gillis said. “The body could be a murder victim. . . . You just don’t know.”

The investigation, involving Los Angeles firefighters and police as well as the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, is ongoing and may not be completed for 72 hours.

Los Angeles County coroners investigators will use dental records to identify the body, authorities said, which could take a few days.