3 killed in early morning Temple City house fire

Three people were killed in an early morning house fire Tuesday in Temple City.

Firefighters responded to the house and attached garage fire at about 1 a.m. in the 5300 block of Tyler Avenue in the San Gabriel Valley community.

One resident made it outside, but went back into the home to help two other residents, firefighters said. All three were found dead at the base of staircase.

"The residents had woken up and started notifying each other," said LA County Fire Battalion Chief Frank Garrido. "One of the residents then went upstairs to get the other two victims and then all three of them did succumb."

Details about their identities were not immediately available.

Neighbor Kathy Wei said the home is owned by a retired couple who had three tenants renting rooms, one of whom is a nurse.

Two people escaped the flames.

Details about how the electrical fire started were not available. The fire spread from a garage to the house.

“Three cars had caught on fire," said Garrido. "We don’t know if it started with the vehicles first then spread to the house or vice versa."

Flames were extinguished at about 1:30 a.m.