Koreatown Blaze Destroys Vacant Apartment Building

KOREATOWN - An intense fire Monday afternoon that destroyed a vacant Koreatown apartment building, damaged four cars and threatened as many as six buildings, was extinguished in just 38 minutes, but not before forcing as many as ten neighbors from their nearby home.
The Los Angeles Fire Department was summoned at 5:28 PM on July 16, 2012 to the vicinity of Olympic Boulevard and New Hampshire Avenue for a possible structure fire. Quickly following visible smoke to the neighborhood, firefighters arrived promptly to do swift battle with extreme flames at a location they initially declared as being on "Serrano Avenue".

The temporarily misstated location was later corrected by responders to 1017 South Berendo Avenue, and confirmed to be a vacant 3,700 square-foot, two-story center hallway apartment building that was undergoing a major renovation.

A one-story "L-shaped" electronics firm immediately to the north, as well as a two-story residence directly to the south were impacted by towering flames, as were to a lesser degree, four other residential buildings in the vicinity. A bold and relentless assault on the flames by 98 Los Angeles Fire Department personnel limited the most serious fire extension to one upstairs room of the neighboring home and surface fire to roof of the electronics firm.

Additionally, four private vehicles sustained significant damage.

Within minutes of the Fire Department's arrival, the fully engulfed upper floor of the 111 year-old wood frame and stucco apartment building began to fail, collapsing upon the first. No residents or firefighters were in harm's way as the flaming remnant of the building crashed to the ground.

Los Angeles Police Officers summoned LAFD Paramedics to a nearby address at the height of the fire to evaluate a man reportedly injured by the blaze, but it was soon determined his minor injuries were not related to the conflagration.

The fire was fully extinguished in just 38 minutes, and no other injuries were reported.

As a result of the fire, as many as ten unrelated adults living separately in the damaged home to the south were directed to seek temporary accommodation - though only one desired placement assistance from the American Red Cross.

Overall loss from the blaze has been estimated at $525,000, while the cause of the fire remains under active investigation.

Dispatched Units: E211 E11 T11 RA811 RA11 E226 E26 T26 E61 SQ21 EM11 BC11 BC1 E10 E13 E6 E229 E29 T29 E261 T61 DC1 EM1 BC18 BC2 T3 E203 RA3 T27 E227 RA827 UR88 BC5 RA27 AR1 AR7

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Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

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