Three die, two are critically injured in South Los Angeles fire

Three people were killed in a house fire late Monday in South Los Angeles, authorities said.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department responded about 11:45 p.m. to the 8700 block of Compton Boulevard in the Florence-Graham neighborhood, said Deputy Trina Schrader, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff’s deputies responded as well.

Firefighters entered the home and found a man in the living room. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Schrader said the manner and cause of death would be determined by the county medical examiner-coroner.

Four other people were found alive but badly injured inside the home and were taken to hospitals, Schrader said. Two of the people later died, and the others were in critical condition Tuesday morning, she said. The gender and ages of the victims weren’t immediately known, she added.

Sheriff’s arson detectives responded to the scene about 1 a.m. Tuesday, Schrader said. She did not know whether authorities had detected any signs of arson at the scene.