LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A dilapidated warehouse where a fire broke out and killed a woman and injured four others is among a growing number of illegal housing units in the city, officials said.
Officials said Monday that about 40 people had been crammed into the South Los Angeles building and that it lacked smoke detectors.
The Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety found the building was unfit for occupancy because of faulty electrical wiring and weak walls, ceilings and floors. It had been zoned for commercial use only.
The increase in illegal lodgings comes as the cost of housing continues to rise and housing availability falls, officials said.
``A lot of them are converted garages and are not visible from the street,'' said Katie Buckland, a spokeswoman for the city attorney's office. ``How many are out there? Nobody in the city has any idea, but we know more are cropping up every day.''
During the early Friday fire, residents gulped air from the heavily barred windows on the second floor of the building as they called for help.
Resident Rachelle Denise Merriwether, 47, died later that day, reportedly from injuries suffered in the fire.
Investigators believe a cigarette started the blaze, but prosecutors are awaiting a full report from fire officials before deciding whether to bring charges against the building's owner, who is listed as Percy Polk Jr. of Los Angeles.
County records show the building was bought in 1997, for $145,001.
Quaintance Cruqtcher was among those who suffered critical lung burns in the fire. She remained in intensive care Monday, said her sister, 64-year-old Carolyn Rose Cruqtcher.
Despite the fire, Cruqtcher said she appreciated the building's owner provided housing for poor residents and said it was one of the few places her sister could afford to live.
A shortage of affordable housing has long been a problem in Los Angeles.
The city's residents increased by 200,000 from 1990 to 2000, but only 37,000 new housing units were constructed then, according to U.S. census data.
More than 20,000 families were on the city Housing Authority's waiting list for public housing as of late 2003.
