Child Critical, 125 Tenants Displaced After Fire at 25-Story Building

Five people, including a child, and three firefighters were treated for injuries after a fire broke out at a 25-story apartment building on the westside of Los Angeles midday Friday. Heavy smoke and flames poured from the 11th floor of the building in the 11700 block of Wilshire Boulevard (map) in the Brentwood area, after the blaze was reported at 11:43 a.m. Five residents were transported to hospitals for smoke exposure, and fire crews checked on others who reportedly failed to heed fire alarms, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department’s Brian Humphrey. A child who was among the five victims was in critical condition, Humphrey said. Three firefighters were hospitalized with minor burns and later released, officials said. Fire officials described a dangerous scenario. “It wasn’t just a room that was on fire. It was complete darkness in a tunnel with charged smoke throughout that floor,” fire Capt. Jaime Moore told reporters. The 386-unit building, the Barrington Plaza apartments, was built in 1961 and did not have fire sprinklers, Humphrey said.