Overview

• Fire crews responded around 7:30 p.m. to the 3700 block of Chartwell Drive and found a 54-year-old man dead inside the garage after extinguishing the flames.
• SAPD says the case is being treated as arson, and investigators believe the fire started in the garage of the property.
• Call records show the man contacted 911 repeatedly hours earlier, said he was suicidal and armed, hung up multiple times, and falsely reported a neighbor’s house fire.
• Officers attempted to make contact earlier in the day and later disengaged, citing no legal basis to enter because he was not an active threat, as neighbors questioned whether more could have been done.
• Three dogs were rescued, one firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion, a nearby home sustained minor damage, and Medical Examiner findings on identification and manner of death are pending.