Over 100 animals, mostly fish, dead after pet store fire in California

The dead include one dog and approximately 20 birds and 100 fish.

By Fred Lambert
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LOS ANGELES, Jan. 17 (UPI) -- Over 100 animals, mostly fish and birds, are dead following a fire at a pet store in California on Saturday, officials said.

Fourty-one firefighters worked to put out the fire at Western Pets in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles, where the blaze was reported at 8:20 a.m. Rescue workers had doused the flames by 9 a.m. but were still reportedly removing animals from the store.

According to a tweet by the Los Angeles County Fire Department, one dog and approximately 20 birds and 100 fish "perished in the smoke-charged store."

LAFD added that the fire was confined to the store and that residents living in apartments on higher levels of the three-story structure suffered no injuries.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

A fire at a Tennessee pet store in 2013 killed a similar number of animals.

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