PICO-UNION : Transients’ Bid to Keep Warm Seen as Cause of Fire
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Transients trying to keep warm apparently caused a fire Monday that gutted an otherwise vacant, four-story apartment building in the Pico-Union area.
More than 100 firefighters sent to the 400 block of South Union Drive about 6:00 a.m. found the building engulfed in flames, said Jim Wells, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman.
A plume of smoke could be seen for miles, and flames and flying embers threatened the roof of the apartment next door. But firefighters took up positions on the roof of that building and kept the flames from spreading, Wells said.
A woman in her 20s apparently was in the building where the fire started. She suffered burns to her hands and was taken to a hospital. Wells said transients apparently started the “warming fire” that sparked the blaze.
The Los Angeles chapter of the American Red Cross opened a shelter at Belmont High School, 1575 W. 2nd St., for about four dozen people who were evacuated from their apartments.
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