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Fire in Los Angeles Chinatown Displaces Dozens; LAFD Arson Team Investigating

Fire in Los Angeles Chinatown Displaces Dozens; LAFD Arson Team Investigating

Firefighters with the Los Angeles Fire Department extinguish the flames of a fire in Los Angeles, in this file photo. (John Fredricks/The Epoch Times)

City News Service
City News Service

9/14/2024

Updated: 9/14/2024

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LOS ANGELES—Officials were providing assistance Saturday to those affected by a raging fire that damaged a vacant three-story apartment building under construction in Chinatown, along with other buildings in the neighborhood.

A 90-year-old man was in critical condition after being injured in the fire, which broke out around 3:45 p.m. Friday in the 700 block of West New Depot Street, near the 800 block of North Bunker Hill Avenue and east of the Harbor (110) Freeway.

The flames spread to a three-story apartment building on the east side of that structure and also damaged three other buildings on the south side and the west side, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

An estimated 70 residents were affected by the fire, and personnel from L.A. Building and Safety were working to evaluate the structures to determine which units would be safe to occupy.

The Red Cross was providing assistance. A van was provided to bring displaced residents to the Chinatown Services Center, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

“Later today, representatives from @countyofla departments will be onsite to provide health, mental health, social services, pet, and transportation services,” County Supervisor Hilda Solis said late Saturday morning. “We will continue to work closely with community organizations to ensure that everyone impacted receives the assistance they need during this difficult time.”

A general information meeting for people impacted by the fire was scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday at the Alpine Recreation Center, 817 Yale St.

It took more than 130 firefighters an hour and 36 minutes to contain the flames, which originated in the vacant building in the 700 block of West New Depot Street, LAFD spokeswoman Margaret Stewart said.

A 90-year-old man who was rescued from the three-story building on the east side of the vacant building was taken to a hospital in critical condition, according to Stewart. A woman in her 50s with a “non-life-threatening burn injury” was taken to a hospital in fair condition, Stewart said.

Two firefighters also were injured, Stewart said. One firefighter with a “non-life-threatening extremity injury [was] taken to [an] occupational health facility, and one with probable heat exhaustion is being treated on scene,” Stewart said in a statement.

According to KTLA5, residents and at least one building manager said they had contacted city officials about homeless people squatting and starting fires in the unfinished building.

The LAFD Arson Section will be in charge of investigating the cause of the fire.

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