Oct. 21--Some residents displaced by a high-rise apartment fire in West Los Angeles were allowed to return home Monday, fire officials said.
Up to 150 residents on the seventh to 11th floors of the Barrington Plaza apartments have been sheltered elsewhere since Friday as the investigation continued and crews cleaned up smoke and water damage.
Tenants in the seventh and eighth floors were allowed to go home Monday, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. Ninth-floor residents may get to go home by Monday night, but it was unclear when people on the 10th and 11th floors would be allowed to return. Those floors remained "uninhabitable," the department said.
The fire broke out in an apartment on the 11th floor Friday afternoon, forcing hundreds to evacuate while more than 200 firefighters responded.
Eight people were injured, including a 2-year-old girl and her grandfather, who had been trapped in a smoky stairwell, KTLA-TV reported. They were listed in critical condition Sunday.
L.A. fire officials said the Barrington Plaza building is not equipped with a sprinkler system. Because it was built 52 years ago, it does not fall under state regulations later adopted that buildings taller than 75 feet include such fire-suppression systems unless granted an exemption.
The fire started in a unit where four college students were living, one of the residents told KTLA.
Damage to the building was expected to be in the millions of dollars. Much of the damage was caused by water used to extinguish the fire.
Copyright 2013 - Los Angeles Times
