Neighbors described early morning blasts, flames and debris after a detached garage caught fire in Jefferson Park.
LOS ANGELES — A man was found dead Saturday after a detached garage fire in Jefferson Park set off repeated fireworks explosions, shaking nearby homes and drawing firefighters, police and bomb squad crews to a residential block in South Los Angeles.
The fire was reported about 5:35 a.m. in the 2400 block of South 9th Avenue. The Los Angeles Fire Department said crews found the garage fully involved with fire and explosions and fought the blaze from a defensive position. The flames were knocked down by 5:52 a.m., but the scene remained active as officials checked for explosive material and searched the property.
Neighbors said the first blast startled them awake before fireworks began shooting into the air above the homes. Marian Fifi Locke, who lives near the property, said the blast shook the area like an earthquake. She said she ran to her front door and saw flames and fireworks outside. Locke said she opened a neighbor’s door and called out for the tenant but received no answer.
Officials later confirmed that a tenant died. His name was not immediately released. Locke described him as a man in his mid-20s who had been kind and respectful. “Very kind. Very mannerable,” Locke said. A 30-year-old woman was evaluated for injuries, fire officials said. Other video from the scene showed injured residents, including a man with a bandaged leg and a woman with blood on her shirt and a bandaged arm.
Los Angeles police said officers removed a large quantity of fireworks from the home. Investigators had not said how many fireworks were stored there or how the fire began. Police spokesman Dennis Orris said it was not yet clear whether the fire caused the man’s death or whether he died before the blaze. Firefighters, police, hazardous materials crews and bomb squad personnel remained involved as the investigation continued.
The explosions scattered remnants of firework packaging around the backyard and damaged nearby property. Neighbor Monica Boswell said the blasts shook her home and frightened her family. She said she got her children out after seeing fireworks erupting from the property. Boswell said her dog ran off during the chaos and that her home was damaged.
The incident comes as Los Angeles officials continue to warn about illegal fireworks before the summer season. Illegal fireworks are common across the region around the Fourth of July, but officials say storage inside homes and garages can turn a fire into a larger explosion risk. In January, two brothers were killed in Bell Gardens in a suspected fireworks blast that also shook a neighborhood.
Arson investigators and Los Angeles police were working to determine whether the Jefferson Park fire was accidental or intentionally set. Authorities had not announced any arrest, charges or final cause by Sunday. The victim’s identity was pending release by the medical examiner.
Author note: Last updated May 10, 2026.