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Firefighters respond to fatal van fire in Tierrasanta

Tierrasanta van fire
Van fire Tierrasanta 10/29/24
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SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The San Diego Police and Fire-Rescue departments responded to a fatal vehicle fire in the Tierrasanta area Tuesday morning.

According to SDPD, officers were called to the 10900 block of Valldemosa Lane at 10:30 a.m. as a neighbor reported seeing a large van on fire. When they arrived on the scene, officers found one person dead inside the vehicle, SDPD says.

A spokesperson for SDFD also confirmed a body was found in the van.

A witness told ABC 10News the van belonged to an 80-year-old man who traveled in it. He had parked it outside his daughter's home when he came to town for a visit.

When the fire was discovered, the owner of the home where the van was parked outside was told about it, and she told the witness her elderly father was missing and that it was his van.

The fire department responded within a few minutes and put out the blaze; the van was half in the driveway and half in the street.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office will have to determine if the body is that of the missing elderly man.

MAST says the cause of the fire is still under investigation. Investigators told ABC 10News they pulled a video from a neighbor's surveillance camera and saw the man standing in front of his van 25 minutes before the fire started.

They're looking for more videos to help them with the investigation.

ABC 10News sent a photojournalist to the area, and they captured video of propane tanks sitting on the ground around the vehicle.

propane tanks vehicle fire 10/29/24
ABC 10News sent a photojournalist to the area, and they captured video of propane tanks sitting on the ground around the vehicle.

This is a developing story. Stay with ABC 10News as our team of journalists works to gather more information.