2 people rescued from Koreatown fire, lithium-ion batteries found in basement

Firefighters rescued two people from a burning apartment building in Los Angeles Friday morning, helping one of the victims out of a second-story window and pulling out another person who was later hospitalized in critical condition.

The critically injured person was rescued from the basement of the building at 427 South Gramercy Place, with the other rescued victim and two other individuals all being looked at by paramedics for potential injuries such as smoke inhalation, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. It took firefighters 30 minutes to put out the blaze, which LAFD first reported in an alert at 8:39 a.m.

Firefighters discovered multiple lithium-ion batteries, on scooters, in the basement, according to LAFD. The highly flammable, potentially explosive batteries have been tied to recent fires that have shut down roads and freeways in Southern California. 

They have been blamed for more than 170 fires in New York City this year, authorities said, some resulting in deaths such as an apartment fire that killed a 69-year-old man last month. Last year, 14 people in the city were killed in fires linked to lithium-ion batteries.