Elderly Woman Found Dead in Pasadena House Fire

[Updated: Saturday, August 31, 2025 | 12:00 noon]  Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin said late Sunday morning the Arson Task Force has ruled out arson as the cause of the fire and concluded the blaze was “accidental.” Augustin said the woman’s death remains under investigation. Her name has not yet been released. 

An elderly woman was found dead in a house on fire early Saturday morning in West Pasadena, where hoarding and the absence of a working smoke detector may have hindered her escape, officials said.

The blaze broke out around 6:24 a.m. on August 30 in the 1500 block of Lancashire Place, a dead-end street located off Lida Street near its intersection with Wellington Avenue, west of the Rose Bowl.

Pasadena Fire Department crews arrived to find the single-story home fully engulfed in flames, according to Deputy Fire Chief Anthony James.

During simultaneous search and suppression efforts, firefighters discovered the woman’s body inside the residence.

Her identity has not been released pending notification of next of kin, said Lisa Derderian, Chief Communications Officer for the City of Pasadena.

Neighbors described the woman as elderly, used a cane when walking, and was “kind of like a hoarder.”

Derderian confirmed that “it appears she lived alone.”

Pasadena Fire Chief Chad Augustin said the hoarding conditions created significant obstacles for both the victim and emergency responders.

“There was not a clear path to exit,” Augustin said. “When you wake up and it’s smoky and the house is on fire, it’s easy to get disoriented. And if you can’t see and you don’t have a clear way to get out of your house, it’s really tough.”

Augustin said that “there was not a working smoke detector, and that could have given this resident ample time to evacuate.”

The fire was contained to the residence, which sustained extensive damage. No neighboring homes were affected; although the hillside brush briefly ignited, crews successfully prevented the flames from spreading.

An Arson Task Force, with investigators from Pasadena, Redondo Beach, Montebello, Burbank, and Sierra Madre, responded to the scene.

The cause of the fire has not been officially determined. The investigation remains ongoing.

As of early Sunday, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office has not formally identified the victim.