One dead, firefighter injured in structure fire off Water Street

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) -- Arson investigators are trying to find out the cause of a deadly structure fire at the old County Sobering Center that killed one person and left one firefighter injured.

The Santa Cruz Fire Department responded to the fire at an unoccupied building off Water Street around 3:05 a.m. Wednesday.

Crews surrounded the back of the building when they reportedly saw one person exiting the building. The person exiting said another person was still inside as flames started to develop.

Crews forced entry, but were overwhelmed by the heat from the fire and smoke. After additional crews were able to hose some of the fire down, firefighters were able to enter the building where they located the victim.

The victim was removed from the building but died shortly after. Santa Cruz Fire says they will not identify the victim until family has been notified.

A firefighter was also hurt battling the blaze but is expected to be okay. The injuries that fire crew member suffered were not disclosed by Santa Cruz Fire.

The building is a county-owned building, previously the County Sobering Center but is currently unoccupied.

Santa Cruz Fire says the fire was occupied by trespassers at the time the building caught fire and believe up to 6 people were in the building when the fire started.

Arson investigators are currently investigating and say that investigation is ongoing at this time.

The cause of the fire is unknown.