espite the efforts of neighbors and firefighters, one man died at a hospital Wednesday morning, after he was pulled from flames that swept through an abandoned home in South Los Angeles .

The Los Angeles Fire Department was summoned at 9:14 AM on February 1, 2017 to the southwest corner of Griffith Avenue and 29th Street where firefighters arrived quickly to find workers from a nearby business using sledgehammers in a fruitless effort to gain entry and help persons they believed trapped inside a well secured and burning 780 square-foot home at 2903 South Griffith Avenue

Teams of firefighters deftly used power and hand tools to breach and remove plywood and steel security bars that covered the windows and doors of the heat- and smoke-charged structure, as their colleagues extended hoselines and commenced vertical ventilation of the 98-year old building, which had been boarded and vacant for some time.

During the firefight, LAFD crews rapidly entered and methodically searched the premises, discovering and rescuing an unconscious and non-breathing adult male through a bedroom window. The man was promptly placed in the care of Firefighter/Paramedics, who initiated advanced life support measures while rushing him to a nearby hospital in grave condition, where he later died.

An adult female who had earlier escaped the burning home with minimal injury was soon thereafter discovered outside by firefighters. She adamantly declined hospital transportation or social services.

Eighty-five firefighters under the command of Battalion Chief Eric Talamantes confined the fire to the contents and attic of the structure, extinguishing flames in less than 16 minutes. No other injuries were reported.

A positive identification of the dead man, as well as the cause, time and manner of his death will be determined by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner

There was no immediate evidence that the vacant and boarded premises, considered unfit for human tenancy prior to the fire, had any manner of approved smoke alarm, life safety or fire protection systems.

Pursuant of protocol, the cause of the fire remains under active investigation.