UPDATE: Fatal Fire at Spring Valley Apartment Complex Under Investigation

UPDATE - 5:15 p.m. Friday.

The victim in the fire has been identified by authorities as a 65-year-old man. His name was withheld pending notification of next of kin. Authorities found his remains in the bathroom of the charred apartment unit.

Detectives gave no indication that the man was slain, but an official cause of death will not be determined until after postmortem tests are completed. A cause of the fire is still under investigation as well, and fire authorities said they are not ruling out arson.

It was previously reported that only one other person was sent to the hospital for as a result of the fire. That number has been increased to four, who were treated for minor ailments, including respirator irritation.

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A suspicious fire broke out at a large apartment complex in Spring Valley Friday, killing one person and prompting about 100 to leave, authorities said.

The fire broke at the Rancho Pointe Apartment Homes in the 3500 block of Sweetwater Springs Boulevard about 5:30 a.m., said San Diego County sheriff’s Lt. Jim Nolan.

One person was found dead inside the apartment were the fire apparently began, said San Miguel Consolidated Fire Protection District spokesman Leonard Villarreal. Paramedics took a second person to a hospital with smoke inhalation or possibly a heart condition, he said.

"One of the other neighbors was yelling 'Fire' outside," said Keisha Haywood, a resident of the apartment complex. "I was laying on my floor, my window was open, but I didn't smell smoke or anything. There were a lot of people leaving. I thought someone was fighting at first, but they they said it was a fire."

About 100 people were displaced or temporarily under evacuation orders
as a result of the fire. Haywood's husband, Burnell, said that he didn't know when they would be able to return to their apartment. They have lived there since July.

"It could be a long time, I'm guessing," he said. "Things like this used to happen all the time when I lived in New Jersey. But we used to be back in like an hour and a half or two hours. But with the homicide detectives, chemicals, whatever, it could be a long time."

Burnell said that he heard they found the victim in his bathtub.

The cause of the blaze was being investigated by the sheriff’s bomb/arson unit, Nolan said without elaboration. A HazMat team was also on the scene. A spokesperson from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said that more information will become available after the medical examiner arrives and completes the investigation.

Authorities closed down Sweetwater Springs Boulevard from the SR-94 on ramp at Campo Road to Del Rio Road. Traffic lanes were reopened at about 9:35 a.m.

Keep updated on this story on Mount Helix Patch.

—City News Service contributed to this report.