One dead in ‘suspicious’ townhome fire in Rosemead

A man died in a “suspicious” fire that ripped through a Rosemead townhome where drug activity was occurring, authorities said.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Richard Biddle said investigators are treating the Thursday incident as a homicide, noting that a large amount of marijuana was in the home and no one has come forward to say they lived there.

Firefighters were called to the two-story home in the 8300 block of Rush Street shortly before 5 p.m. When they arrived, the first floor — where the burned body was discovered — was engulfed in flames, Biddle said. The second floor was damaged by smoke.

It appeared as though someone had been living in each of the four bedrooms in the home, but Biddle said investigators have not identified the residents or the victim. As of shortly before 10 p.m., they were waiting for a search warrant to go inside.

Anyone with information about the deadly blaze is asked to call sheriff’s homicide investigators at (323) 890-5500.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AleneTchek