Overview

• Fire ignited around 1:50 p.m. in a second-floor unit at 2353 S. Portland St. and was knocked down about 19 minutes later by nearly 50 firefighters.
• During a primary search, crews found a man in his 50s in the burning unit, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
• The LAFD initiated an arson investigation under fatal-fire protocol, and the cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
• The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner will identify the victim and determine the specific cause of death.
• The apartment building is marketed as off-campus housing about a mile from USC, also houses non-students, and residents from three impacted units could not return Tuesday.