3 Injured After Fire Rips Through North Hollywood Apartments
NORTH HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA) — Several families were wrenched from their beds and forced to flee a fire that quickly engulfed their apartment building in North Hollywood early Wednesday morning.
The fire was reported in the 7400 block of North Lankershim Boulevard at 1:13 a.m., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department's Amy Bastman. The fire reportedly started in a property next to the apartments where there was a previous fire, possibly caused by homeless activity.
Brooke Boyd was returning home from a movie to find her apartment on fire.
"The building was engulfed in flames by the time we got here, and there was a guy walking down the street just happened to see it, so he was helping us get everybody out," she said.
The frantic rush to get people out of their apartments was caught on video, which showed one man pounding on walls and doors while yelling for sleeping residents to get out.
"Yelling, banging on windows," Boyd said. "Like, one of the windows is broken because we were banging on it."
Families with young children ran out in pajamas and nothing else.
Three injuries were reported, including a 57-year-old man whose arms were burned and a 30-year-old woman who suffered from smoke inhalation. They were taken to local hospitals, and their conditions were not immediately available.
At least two apartments were destroyed, and the Red Cross is on the scene to help the displaced families.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
