SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The San Diego County Sheriff's Department says it is investigating a fatal house fire that happened in an unincorporated area of La Mesa on Saturday.
According to an SDSD watch commander, deputies responded to the fire in the 9100 block of Lavell Street around 12:15 p.m. on July 8 after receiving calls about smoke coming from behind a house in that area.
Deputies found the house on fire and a woman who managed to escape the home. According to SDSD, deputies entered the house and tried to find an elderly woman upstairs, but they were pushed back by the smoke and flames.
The San Miguel Fire Department made it to the scene shortly after, found the woman inside and extinguished the fire.
"Unfortunately she died from her injuries on scene," the sheriff's department wrote in its press release.
The medical examiner's office is working to make a positive ID of the woman and find out the cause of her death.
Deputies say the woman who escaped the fire was the victim's granddaughter. Paramedics treated her on the scene and released her.
SDSD's Bomb/Arson Unit is investigating the cause of the fire. No deputies or firefighters were injured during this incident.
According to deputies, road closures were set up for several hours at the intersections of San Juan Place and Lavell Street and Bancroft and Edgewood drives.
Watch Commander: Update on the house fire in Rancho San Diego. Unfortunately firefighters found a women's body inside the house. The Medical Examiner's Office will make a positive identification of the women, as well as determine cause and manner of death pending notification of…
— San Diego Sheriff (@SDSheriff) July 8, 2023
This is a developing story. ABC 10News has sent a reporter to the area to gather more information.
