On Wednesday, March 8, 2006 at 2:22 a.m., four companies of Los Angeles firefighters, two LAFD rescue ambulances, five arson investigators, one EMS battalion captain and one battalion chief officer command team, under the direction of Battalion Chief Lawrence Schneider responded to a civilian fatality structure fire at 1047 North Moraga Drive in Bel Air.

Firefighters arrived quickly to find heavy fire showing from the upstairs south-end of a two -story single family dwelling. Forcing entry into the home, they rapidly made their way through the 4,175 square-foot smoke-charged residence to tackle flames on the second floor.

The fire was confined to the second floor of the 56 year-old home and extinguished in less than 17 minutes.

During fire attack, firefighters discovered a man and woman unconscious and unresponsive in a second floor bedroom. Immediate Basic Life Support was promptly followed by Advanced Life Support measures as two teams of LAFD paramedics rushed the patients to the UCLA Medical Center in Westwood.

The 79 year-old male was declared deceased shortly after arrival at the hospital. An 83 year-old female remained in critical condition early Wednesday morning.

During their search and rescue efforts, firefighters also found one lifeless dog within the home. Without vital signs of life, the animal proved to be beyond their assistance and was declared deceased at the scene.

Though physical evidence of a smoke alarm was discovered in the residence, the functional status of that device at the time of the fire could not be immediately determined. There were no security bars or other obvious impairments to egress.

Monetary loss from the blaze is estimated at $200,000 ($150,000 structure & $50,000 contents). The fire's cause remains under active investigation.

A positive identification of the deceased, as well as the exact cause, time and manner of his death will be determined by Coroner's officials.