North Hills fire: Body found inside vacant fire-ravaged building

LOS ANGELES - A body has been found inside a commercial building that caught fire earlier this week in North Hills. 

The backstory:

A two-story structure erupted in flames just before 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 13 in the 15200 block of Parthenia St., just two blocks east of Sepulveda Boulevard.

While that structure was vacant, the fire threatened the adjacent apartment complex. By Wednesday afternoon, 41 units had been yellow-tagged.

A woman thought to be in her 40s was taken to a hospital in fair condition for possible smoke inhalation. Two women from the apartment building were treated at the scene for smoke inhalation and a third woman declined to go to the hospital for treatment, according to the LAFD.

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The blaze displaced 27 people, six adults and 21 children, from the apartment building, due primarily to broken glass and smoke damage.

Body found in rubble 

What we know:

On Wednesday morning, dogs trained to search for human remains were brought in to determine if anyone may have died in the building. Neighbors said homeless people were known to take up residence in the building, which used to be a church.

By Thursday afternoon, the fire department confirmed the fire was fatal after having found a body inside. 

"LAFD units including Heavy Equipment, Arson, and specialized search dog teams coordinated a systematic search over the course of three days, and have located a body inside the structure affected by this fire," the fire department wrote. 

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Families were displaced, and two people were injured after a massive fire erupted at a nearby vacant building in Los Angeles' North Hills neighborhood.

LAFD, LAPD, and the Medical Examiner are working to remove the body. 

The person's gender, age and exact cause of death are unknown. 

Dig deeper:

The North Hills fire was the second major emergency fire in the San Fernando Valley in just over 12 hours. Another fire gutted much of a commercial building in Winnetka before sunrise Tuesday, causing a partial collapse and injuring one person.

The LAFD's Arson Section was investigating the causes of both fires.