Los Angeles high-rise apartment fire critically injures one
Over 300 members of the LAPD are battling the blaze
More than 300 hundred firefighters responded to a blaze in a 25-story Los Angeles residential building Wednesday morning, as dramatic video showed residents, some in bathrobes, on the roof and even one person scaling the side of the building amid flames and clouds of smoke.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said the fire was reported about 8:30 a.m. at the Barrington Plaza apartment building in the Sawtelle neighborhood on the city’s west side. It was fully out by 10 a.m., officials said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Helicopters rescued residents from the roof of the building, Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas said at a press conference. Authorities said initial reports that some residents jumped from the building were false.
A large inflatable bag is set up on the ground on one side of the building. The person seen scaling the side of the building was going to jump but firefighters were able to intervene, Terrazas said.
Two people were hospitalized. Six others suffered smoke inhalation. A three-month-old infant was among those affected. The cause of the fire remained under investigation. Terrazas said an arson team was at the scene and the fire had been deemed “suspicious.”
The fire originated on the sixth floor. It spread to the fifth, seventh and eighth floors. Firefighters were going door-to-door to check on residents and perform health assessments. Officials would later determine if further evacuations were necessary. LAPD and Santa Monic fire were also on scene.
The building did not have a sprinkler system, officials said. The Los Angeles Times reported after a 2013 fire at the same building that because it was built 52 years ago it wasn’t required to have one under state regulations.
Earlier the same morning, a windswept blaze damaged a 26-story office building about three blocks away. About 50 people were evacuated from that building, where damage was mostly confined to the first and second floors, according to The Associated Press.
The “major emergency” fire was first reported about 2:45 a.m., KNBC reported. The blaze had been put out by 4:00 a.m. local time, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a press release.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.