NORTH HOLLYWOOD (CNS) — A man suffered burn injuries and a woman was hospitalized with smoke inhalation following a raging fire in a two-story North Hollywood apartment on Wednesday, April 11.
Residents and passersby ran through the 26-unit building at 7423 N. Lankershim Blvd., knocking on doors and alerting the occupants to the fire, which was reported at 1:13 a.m. and took 87 firefighters 38 minutes to knock down.
A 57-year-old man was taken to a hospital with burns and a 30-year-old woman was transported with smoke inhalation, according to Amy Bastman of the Los Angeles Fire Department. A third person was treated at the scene for an unspecified injury.
None of the injuries was life-threatening.
One resident told reporters he felt the fire could have been sparked by homeless people in an adjacent abandoned building.
LAFD spokesman Brian Humphrey said investigators are aware of the issue of homeless people in the neighborhood, but had found no connection between transients and the fire as of late this morning. The cause of the fire was under “active investigation,” he added.
Four of the units were red-tagged, according to reports from the scene. The American Red Cross was assisting residents.