PASADENA >> Investigators suspect a small fire that broke out early Sunday inside a Pasadena home with six people inside may have been intentionally set, authorities said.
A resident of the home in the 1200 block of north Hill Avenue noticed smoke and called 9-1-1 just before 10 a.m., Pasadena police and fire officials said. Several of the adult residents of the home were asleep at the time.
Residents had extinguished the small fire themselves before firefighters arrived, Pasadena Fire Department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said.
A man in his 60s was taken to a hospital with possible smoke inhalation, police said. The other five residents of the home were unharmed.
Firefighters went into the home to check for any residual fire and determined the fire appeared suspicious, Derderian said. An arson investigator responded to the scene.
Investigators suspected the senior citizen who was taken to the hospital, who was described as “despondent,” may have set the fire, Pasadena police Lt. John Luna said.
The arson investigator expected to present his findings to prosecutors this week for consideration of possible charges, Derderian said.
She added that the fire caused about $15,000 worth of damage to the home and its contents.