Dog Killed, Firefighter Injured In 2-Alarm Fire At Long Beach Condominium Complex
LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — A dog was killed and a firefighter was injured early Thursday morning in a fire at a Long Beach condominium complex.
The 3-alarm fire, which left a number of people homeless for the holiday, was first reported at 3:36 a.m. in a second story unit of the three-story building in the 5400 block of Centralia Street, Long Beach Fire officials said.
Flames then spread to the top floor and roof. The Los Angeles County Fire Department was also on scene to assist.
The fire was knocked down about a half hour later.
"Most of the things that matter are salvageable," resident Mike Galant said. "There's some furniture that is not, but it's kind of old furniture that I was hoping to replace at some point."
No occupants were injured, but officials discovered a dog, in the unit where the fire originated, was killed. That dog may have saved lives, however, when he alerted residents to what was going on.
One firefighter was hospitalized after suffering burns to his face and chin.
A neighbor also went to different units alerting residents to the flames.
"We woke up to a neighbor pounding on our door at four in the morning," resident Brandon Smith said. "We ran out and just saw orange. The fire went up from the second unit to the top unit."
Four additional units suffered water damage, according to authorities.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
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