HOLLYWOOD HILLS—On January 17, firefighters with the Los Angeles Fire Department rescued two men from a burning building, before extinguishing the flames consuming a one-story Hollywood home.
Firefighters responded to reports of smoke in the area, and arrived to find a one-story single-family home with fire showing at 3 a.m. on the 1300 block of North Cherokee Avenue.
The LAFD reported on its website that while initiating an offensive fire attack, the first engine company found two people trapped behind a double-keyed security gate inside the structure. Firefighters used forcible entry tools to access the area, and rescued two adult males that were transported to a local hospital (one in critical condition, one in grave condition). The status of the victims’ injuries is not known.
During the rescue, the fire continued to expand. The engine company resumed fire attack operations after rescuing the two patients, but the fire had grown rapidly. The crew was inside the structure when a flashover occurred. Only one member was found to have burns on their ears, but all four members of the crew were transported for observation at the hospital. All four firefighters were released later in the morning.
It took 48 firefighters 31 minutes to access, confine, and extinguish the flames. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
