A standoff in Woodland Hills that began as a domestic violence call on Sunday afternoon ended late that night with a three-unit townhome burning, gunfire coming from inside it, and human remains found in the wreckage that police presume are those of the man they had been trying to reach.

The sequence

Los Angeles police went to the 5700 block of Owensmouth Avenue at around 3:15 p.m., according to NBC Los Angeles. The man, 47, was wanted on felony domestic violence charges and would not come out.

Negotiations went on through the afternoon and evening. Officers used tear gas. A SWAT team arrived around 6 p.m. Shortly before 11 p.m., nearly eight hours after the first units arrived, fire broke out in the middle unit of the building.

Firefighters worked from outside rather than entering, because shots were being fired from the structure while it burned. It has not been established whether those rounds were fired by the man or were ammunition detonating in the heat. Both are routine possibilities in a house fire where firearms are present, and the distinction matters, so it should not be assumed either way.

Once the fire was out, human remains were found inside. LAPD investigators presume they are the man's, and the medical examiner has not yet confirmed an identification.

What is attributed and what is not

The LAPD's account, as reported by NBC Los Angeles, is that the man set the fire. That is the department's characterization. The origin of the fire is among the matters still being examined, and the Herald is reporting the police account as an account rather than as a settled finding.

The cause of death has not been released. That determination rests with the Los Angeles County medical examiner following an autopsy, and no responsible conclusion can be drawn before it.

Others involved

A woman understood to be the man's wife was injured and treated at the scene. Her condition has not been described in detail, and she has not been named.

No officers or firefighters were reported injured.

Three dogs were in the home. Only one is believed to have got out.

The wider pattern, stated carefully

Domestic violence calls are among the more dangerous assignments in policing, and they account for a meaningful share of barricade situations. That is a well-established pattern and worth readers knowing.

It is not, however, an explanation of what happened on Owensmouth Avenue, and it would be wrong to present it as one. What produced this outcome, and whether the eight-hour approach was the right one, are questions for the review that follows any death during a police operation.

Still open

Investigators have not stated how the fire started, where the gunfire came from, or how the man died, and the remains have not been formally identified. Neighboring units were damaged and residents nearby were moved out during the fire.

The Herald will follow the medical examiner's findings and the department's account as they are released.

Correction: an earlier version of this story placed the fire in the 5700 block of Owensmouth Avenue as the 5000 block, and said the man was found dead. Police have described human remains, presumed but not yet confirmed to be his.