Body Found In Long Beach Apartment Fire

LONG BEACH, CA — A fire in a Long Beach apartment that left a man dead Tuesday was listed as accidental and caused by smoking materials, authorities said.

The blaze broke out at 2:16 a.m. in a two-story apartment building in the 1500 block of Magnolia Avenue, said Long Beach Firefighter Jake Heflin. Firefighters responded to a fire alarm and traced smoke to a second-floor unit, where a rear bedroom was on fire, Heflin said.

Once the flames were out, firefighters searched the apartment and found the deceased man, whose name was withheld pending notification of his relatives.

"The fire was caused by smoking materials on and around the victim's bed," Heflin said.

The damage was confined to the unit of origin, and the rest of the building's residents were able to return to their apartments, Heflin said.

A damage estimate was not immediately available.