3 hurt in Chinatown apartment fire
Three people were hurt, including one critically, after a large fire erupted at an apartment building in Chinatown.
LOS ANGELES – Fire authorities said a 90-year-old man is in critical condition and two firefighters have been hospitalized following a blaze that swept through a three-story apartment building in Chinatown overnight.
The fire started around 3:45 a.m. Friday in the 800 block of North Bunker Hill Avenue, just east of the 110 Freeway. Los Angeles Police Department officers patrolling the area noticed flames and alerted the city’s fire department.
A man also stopped the officers to report squatters were living in the building.
Once firefighters arrived at the scene, the fire had spread to adjacent apartment buildings. At one point, residents on the third floor of one of the buildings were trapped and later rescued by fire crews. Two civilians received on-site treatment for minor injuries, and a third remains in critical condition.
Two Los Angeles City firefighters were hurt while attempting to control the fire. One suffered a shoulder injury, and the other was being treated for heat exhaustion.
Massive fire rips through Chinatown apartments
One person was critically hurt when a fire spread to three apartments buildings in Chinatown.
FOX 11 was told by neighbors that the burned building, currently under construction, had been problematic for some time, and that squatters had raised concerns of a potential fire.
“If they would’ve taken care of these apartments or left a security guard watching them, this wouldn’t have ever happened,” said Chinatown resident Sylvia Favela.
Residents claim they have communicated concerns to city officials for years to no avail, expressing a feeling of abandonment by the city.
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