By Tom Lochner and George Kelly
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
A man was arrested in connection with an early Monday morning house fire in San Pablo that killed one man and injured another.
Abdullah Saud Almahri, 34, of San Pablo was pronounced dead by Contra Costa County firefighters at the scene of the fire in the 1400 block of Yuba Avenue.
San Pablo police arrested Mohamed Ahmed Ali Korin, 42, of San Pablo on suspicion of homicide, attempted homicide and residential arson. Korin, whom San Pablo detectives identified as the suspect within four hours of the fire, was being held on $2.25 million bail at County Jail in Martinez, said San Pablo Police Detective Erik Nilsson.
Firefighters responded to the single-alarm fire about 4:15 a.m., according to Contra Costa Fire District Battalion Chief Ron Gesner. When firefighters arrived, the house’s front door and windows were blowing fire, he said.
“One guy was able to self-extricate out a back window” that opened out onto a hill on the house’s second floor, Gesner said.
Although the injured man told firefighters he believed two other people were in the house, Gesner said, firefighters recovered Almahri only.
The injured man escaped with cuts and smoke inhalation and was taken to Doctors Medical Center in San Pablo, where he was treated and released. Police did not identify him.
The fire was extinguished at about 4:45 a.m. Damage was initially estimated at $200,000.
Fire marshal Richard Carpenter said the house had only a front door. He did not know whether the house was equipped with smoke detectors. “We’re not sure if that would have helped under the circumstances,” he added.
One factor in the injured man’s survival was that the door to his bedroom was closed, Carpenter said.
Three people lived in the single-family house, Carpenter said.
Nilsson could not say whether Korin, the suspect, lived in the house. He said police were investigating possible motives and the nature of Korin’s relationship with Almahri and the injured man.
Police are not looking for any other suspects in Monday’s incident, nor do they know of any connection with any other recent crimes, Nilsson said.
He asked anyone with information about Monday’s incident to call police at 510-215-3150.
Contra Costa Times (http://www.contracostatimes.com/)