95-year-old Pasadena man dies in fire at duplex

0119_NWS_ PSN-L-FATALFIRE1

PASADENA — A 95-year-old longtime Pasadena resident died late Friday in a fire at his Carlton Avenue home, authorities said.
The man’s officials identity was not released Saturday pending positive identification by coroner’s investigators.
The fatal fire broke out just before 11:40 p.m. inside the front unit of a duplex in the 100 block of Carlton Avenue, Pasadena Fire Department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said.
The man’s great niece and her teenage son, who live in the rear unit of the duplex, were alerted to the fire when their smoke alarm went off, she said.
“They tried to go in and rescue him, but they were overcome by smoke and flame,” Derderian said. The frantic family members then called 9-1-1, reporting the fire and the elderly man trapped inside the burning home.
“We got there within minutes and did an aggressive attack,” Derderian said.
Firefighters found the man and pulled him outside, officials said. He succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
The elderly man had lived in the home since the early-1970s and had lived in Pasadena even longer, Derderian said. He had become a fixture on his street, where he was known for greeting neighbors from his white lawn chair and passing out homemade jellies and jams.
“He was still physically active at 95 years old,” Derderian said.
Investigators determined the cause to be electrical in nature and ruled the fire accidental, Derderian said. Further details regarding how the fire ignited were not immediately available.
The relatives were not injured, Derderian said, but were displaced from their home due to smoke and water damage.
Officials estimated the fire caused $300,000 worth of damage.

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