Woman In 'Grave Condition' After Being Pulled From East Hollywood Strip Mall Fire
EAST HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA.com) — A woman was in grave condition Wednesday after being pulled from a strip mall fire in East Hollywood.
The fire was reported around 7:10 a.m. in the 4800 block of Santa Monica Boulevard, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.
It was contained to two businesses and a common attic in the mall.
The unidentified 35-year-old woman was pulled from the smoking building by firefighters and taken to a local hospital.
"It was really a very heroic effort on the part of the firefighters in zero visibility conditions to rescue her," Dep. Chief Joe Castro said.
It appeared that she was living in one of the units illegally, fire officials said. The woman's pet dog was also found dead.
It took 84 firefighters 40 minutes to knock down the fire.
Officials say three of the six businesses in the strip mall are salvageable.
"It's just the walls, the ceiling is all messed up, no electricity. There's a lot of water damage, it still has potential, "said tattoo shop owner Randy Pairingit.
The cause of the fire was under investigation. A damage estimate was not available.
