Man Killed In East County House Fire Identified

EL CAJON, CA – Authorities Wednesday identified a 72-year-old man who died inside a bedroom in a house fire in El Cajon.

Dispatchers received reports of a fire shortly before 5:30 a.m. Thursday at a house in the 900 block of South Magnolia Avenue, Heartland Fire & Rescue public information officer Mark Casey said.

A caregiver staying at the house awoke to smoke in her room and noticed flames in 72-year-old Mike Loveless' bedroom, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office. She awoke others in the house who were able to evacuate safely.

Firefighter crews responded to the fire and attempted rescue while also extinguishing the flames.

Attempts to enter the bedroom were unsuccessful because of the fire and firefighters found Loveless of El Cajon lying in his bed, according to the Medical Examiner's Office.

Loveless died of "fourth-degree thermal burns" suffered in the fire and his death was ruled an accident, the Medical Examiner's Office said in a statement.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and tobacco use were listed as contributing causes in Loveless' death, according to the Medical Examiner's Office.

Crews knocked down the flames in around 20 minutes, Casey said.

The fire, for which the cause remains undetermined, caused an estimated $100,000 worth of damage to the house and its contents, Casey said.

By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock