Massive fire sweeps through Chinatown apartment buildings
LOS ANGELES - Over 50 residents were displaced after a fire swept through four apartment buildings in Los Angeles' Chinatown neighborhood overnight. An 80-year-old man was critically injured and continues fighting for his life, while a firefighter battling the flames was also hospitalized.
The fire started around 3:45 a.m. Friday, Sept. 13, in the 700 block of New Depot, 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 where the fire started.
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, a 55-year-old woman was taken to the hospital with burn injuries to her hands, and a third remains in critical condition.
Two Los Angeles City firefighters were impacted while attempting to control the fire. One was hospitalized for a shoulder injury, and the other was treated at the scene for heat exhaustion.
Several units in one of the buildings on New Depot Street have been yellow-tagged and another building on the 800 block of Bunker Hill Avenue has been red-tagged.
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.
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(KTTV: Gigi Graciette)
"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.
So far, no one has been detained.
The Red Cross was called in to assist the displaced residents.
LAPD Major Crimes was working with LAFD arson investigators to determine the cause of the fire.
FOX 11 has reached out to city officials for comment.