Man, 2 dogs killed in La Habra house fire

Authorities are investigating after a man and two dogs were killed in a house fire in La Habra Saturday morning.

The fire was ignited at a home on the 1300 block of North Farrington Avenue at around 10:40 a.m.

Alisa Grace, a neighbor, recalled hearing an explosion and immediately ran outside to find the victim’s garage engulfed in flames.

“We ran up to the front door and we were knocking to see if anybody was home, but the flames were just coming out of the garage, smoke was billowing out,” Grace told KTLA’s Rachel Menitoff.

Grace, who lives across the street, said the home belonged to a family of four and several dogs.

Cell phone video of the scene showed a group of neighbors running over and attempting to extinguish the fire which had spread from the garage and into the home.

“All the cars are in the driveway and you’re thinking, ‘Well, maybe they’re all out of town because nobody’s answering the door,’” Grace said.

Crews from the Los Angeles County Fire Department arrived and began working to extinguish the growing flames. Inside the garage, the homeowner, a 48-year-old man, and two family dogs were found dead. A third dog that was unresponsive was rushed to an animal hospital.

The victim’s identity has not been released by authorities.

“It’s just very sad,” Grace said. “Someone lost their husband and their father. It just breaks our hearts for our neighbors.”

The victim was described by his brother as a family man. His wife and children were not home at the time and were traveling abroad.

Officials said the fire’s origin stemmed from the garage, but it’ll take some time to determine the events that ignited the deadly blaze.

“It’s challenging because it depends on how good of an idea they have of where the fire started and what caused it,” explained Fred Fielding, an L.A. County Fire spokesperson. “So, that can take longer depending on how clear that picture is.”

Art Arzaga, a retired L.A. County fire captain, was one of the good Samaritans who knocked on the victim’s front door Saturday morning, trying to see if anyone was inside.

He alerted the next-door neighbors to take precautions while clearing a path for arriving firefighters. 

“It looks primarily in the garage and there were cars parked next to it, and the fire had spread to the cars and the tires started to pop and those were the other explosions that [neighbors] heard,” Arzaga explained.

Throughout his career, Arzaga has fought dangerous fires of all kinds — from deadly house fires to massive wildfires. He said Saturday morning’s incident was especially tragic, given the holiday season.

“It hurts any time and because you’re around family and friends and you just want to have a festive time,” he said. “It’s a tragic loss for everyone, for our neighborhood.”

Loved ones told KTLA that the victim’s wife and children are making arrangements to travel back home as soon as possible.

The house remains boarded up Saturday night as the deadly fire remains under investigation by La Habra police.

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