Probe Continues Into Cause Of Fire At Brentwood High-Rise
BRENTWOOD (CBSLA.com) — Authorities Saturday were investigating the cause of a fire that heavily damaged one unit of a Brentwood residential high-rise and left ten people injured, including a toddler.
As of Saturday evening, more than 15- residents were still displaced. The building's management company was putting those people up in a hotel until Monday. (The residents were also given $50 a day for spending money.)
The fire erupted just after 11:45 a.m. Friday at the 25-story Barrington Plaza on Wilshire Boulevard, according to KNX 1070's Ed Mertz.
Probe Underway Following Blaze At Brentwood High-Rise
Of those injured, two of the victims remained in critical condition at UCLA Medical Center. The condition of the 2-year-old girl who suffered smoke inhalation was upgraded Saturday.
Three firefighters, who were transported to the Grossman Burn Center with injuries, have since been released.
Erik Scott, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department, says residents on the seventh through eleventh floors have not been able to return home.
Firefighters escorted many of the displaced residents to their apartments so they could pick up essentials and toiletries.
Firefighters said they managed to contain the flames to one unit on the eleventh floor. The blaze was put out in just over an hour.
"The door was open to that unit and that's what caused that extensive amount of damage in that hallway. Whether someone was in there when it started, I don't know," LAFD Capt. Jamie Moore said Friday.
On Saturday, speculation on the cause of the fire centered around the apartment's kitchen.
Neighbors also told CBS2's Art Barron that that apartment where the fire took place was the scene of many parties and some residents complained about "a lot of smoking going on" in the past.
Barron also said a temporary Red Cross shelter was opened several blocks away but since closed as no one in the building needed the service.,
Built in 1961, firefighters said the 240-unit building is not equipped with a sprinkler system but had fire alarms that were operating.
RELATED STORY: Several Residents And Firefighters Hurt, Hundreds Evacuated During Brentwood High-Rise Fire
