The resident of a home in the 2600 block of O'Hare Avenue called police at 2:17 a.m. to report that he smelled smoke in his house.
Police and firefighters responded to the house together and found a fire in the fireplace that was creating some smoke, but no fire outside the fireplace, Lewellyn said.
As they were searching the home to make sure there wasn't a fire, an officer saw Vazquez-Becerra lying next to the fireplace, Lewellyn said.
When the officer tried to wake him up, he discovered he was dead, Lewellyn said.
It wasn't immediately clear where Vazquez-Becerra lived, but neighbors said he had been working on a house across the street and was friends with the resident.
Lewellyn said Vazquez-Becerra had apparently come over for a visit and fallen asleep next to the fire.
The Contra Costa County coroner's office is waiting for results of toxicology tests to determine a cause of death, but a deputy coroner said this morning that it doesn't appear to be smoke-related nor does it appear to be suspicious.
