Officials say that a massive Los Angeles apartment fire that triggered several alarms occurred early Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles and that at least one person was wounded.
According to FOX 11 Los Angeles, as more than one hundred firemen battled the large fire, thick black smoke ascended above the two-story apartment building that was situated at the junction of West 7th Street and S Hoover Street in the Westlake District area.
YouTube Video: Fire crews knock down large fire in Westlake apartment complex; man in custody.
The fire was quickly controlled by emergency reaction teams, who used a method known as “surround and drown” to put out the blaze and prevent it from spreading to other neighboring properties.
According to reports from FOX 11, all of the residents who remained in the building have been safely evacuated.
After receiving a call, officers from the Los Angeles Police Department were the first to arrive on the site before the Los Angeles apartment fire broke out.
KNX News, a local news station, stated that shortly after police officers arrived at the site, a non-compliant suspect who was already inside the premises disobeyed their directions and started lighting items on fire.
According to reports from KCAL News, the suspect was thought to be in possession of a knife and had used a sofa to block the entrance to the flat.
According to the allegation, the unnamed suspect then started burning articles on fire and tossing them at the police officers.
KCAL News reports that the suspect was caught after he leaped out of a balcony of the apartment while it was on fire.
There were strong winds in the region, which caused the cloud of smoke to be driven almost horizontally, and these winds likely had a role in the rapid spread of the fires throughout the structure.
According to KNX News, the fire was put out within an hour despite the fact that it had already consumed the majority of the structure. Residents who were forced to evacuate their homes as a result of the fire received assistance from the Red Cross and the Crisis Response Team of the Mayor of Los Angeles.
