ALHAMBRA >> A distraught man climbed into a tree in the backyard of a burning home, leaving two children inside alone, before officials ultimately persuaded him to climb down and surrender on Friday morning, authorities said.
The incident began with a report of a house fire about 10 a.m. in the 700 block of North Second Street, Alhambra police Sgt. Jerry Johnson said in a written statement. The relatively small fire was confined to one portion of the home.
“While extinguishing the fire, they encountered a distraught, uncooperative man in the backyard of the house that was burning,” Johnson said. Firefighters called police for help.
Firefighters also found two children, about 5 and 6 years old, inside the home and removed them to safety, Alhambra police and fire officials said. They were unhurt, and it was unclear whether they were aware the house was on fire.
As officers approached the man in the backyard, he climbed about 20 feet up into a backyard tree and refused to come down, officials said.
As a precaution, officials placed Garfield Elementary School, located across the street, on lockdown, Johnson added.
An Alhambra police officer, aided by a county mental health clinician, spoke with the man and encouraged him to come down, according to Johnson. “After about an hour of talking to the man, he peacefully climbed down from the tree.”
Officials took the man to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, officials said. No other injuries were reported.
Police expected to take the man for psychiatric evaluation, Johnson said. It was unclear whether he would face criminal charges as the investigation into the incident and the cause of the fire continued Friday night.
“The actual fire itself was not large in scope, It wasn’t a complete loss on the structure,” Alhambra Fire Department Battalion Chief Doug Shonkwiler said. A dollar-value estimate of the damage was not available.
The detained man had a connection to the involved home, though it was unclear if he lived there, officials said. The relationship between the man and children was unclear.
