Investigators are attempting to determine how a fire that killed three adults started Thursday at an Azusa home, authorities said.
Los Angeles County firefighters were called at about 2:45 p.m. to the home in the 500 block of North Dalton Avenue, and the residence was "well involved in flames," fire inspector Brian Riley said. A fire dispatcher reported that a popping or cracking noise was heard coming from the blaze, and sheriff's deputies were called to cordon off the area in case the noise was due to ammunition going off inside the home.
Lt. Mike Bertelsen of the Azusa Police Department, said the bodies of three people were discovered inside the home after the fire was extinguished.
Witnesses initially reported that a large plume of smoke was coming from the garage area of the property. As the home burned, there was the sign of ammunition "burning off," Bertelsen said.
County sheriff's arson investigators have been called to assist Azusa police detectives in determining what happened at the house, Bertelsen said.
Representatives of the Azusa Code Enforcement Division, Azusa Light and Water Division and the Gas Company also were called to the scene.
