Massive fire which engulfed LA apartment building may be been deliberately lit, firefighters say
An under-construction apartment building in downtown Los Angeles went up in flames early Monday, growing to an uncontrollable inferno that damaged nearby bui...
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Fire Engulfs Apartment Building in Downtown L.A.
A large fire engulfed an apartment building under construction in downtown Los Angeles on Monday morning. According to local news reports, more than 250 fire...
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Fire Engulfs Apartment Building in Downtown L.A. - Video
Los Angeles Fire - The Gates of Hell
Massive apartment building construction site burns in Los Angeles to the Francesca da Rimini Overture by Tchaikovsky. 2:00 am December 8, 2014.
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Massive overnight fires leave multiple buildings destroyed in Los Angeles.
Fire destroyed a seven-storey apartment building under construction in downtown Los Angeles and spread to a neighbouring high-rise before flames were largely extinguished, forcing a major freeway shutdown through rush hour.
The blaze erupted at about 1:30am local time on Monday and took about three hours to bring under control, but no injuries were reported, said Katherine Main, a spokeswoman for Los Angeles City Fire Department.
About 250 firefighters, roughly a quarter of the city's total on-duty force, were battling the flames at the height of the blaze, she said.
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Massive fire closes freeways in downtown Los Angeles
By Bob Keeler bkeeler@montgomerynews.com @bybobkeeler on Twitter
There will be a hearing for the plans before the Franconia Township Zoning Hearing Board in January. An application for the funding program will also be submitted in January, Carol Berster, Peter Beckers president and CEO, said.
Its going to be paid for with low-income housing tax credits, Berster said.
Organizations that invest in the project through a state program supported through the federal government get tax credits, she said.
The building will have 44 one- and two-bedroom independent living apartments, she said.
The rents are based on income, she said.
The median household income in Montgomery County is about $79,000 per year, she said. The building will have three apartments for people whose income is up to 20 percent of that; 21 for individuals or couples whose income is up to 50 percent of the median; and 20 apartments for those whose income is up to 60 percent, she said.
Its not actually really, really low-income, Berster said. It is designed to be affordable housing for people such as retirees on Social Security, but who have little other income or savings, she said.
Background checks will be done on all the tenants, she said.
Unlike the rest of Peter Becker, where the minimum age is 55, the tenants of the new building will have to be at least 62, she said. Continued...
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Peter Becker Community in Harleysville plans for 44-apartment addition
By CHRISTOPHER WEBER Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Federal and local investigators tried Tuesday to determine whether an arsonist set a fire that turned an unfinished downtown Los Angeles apartment complex into a block of flames so hot that freeway signs melted and windows cracked in office high-rises as far as a block away.
Crews were dousing hot spots and smoke was billowing more than 24 hours after flames engulfed the wooden frame of the seven-story construction site, leaving a smoldering heap of wood and metal.
The fire that broke out early Monday caused an estimated $10 million in losses to the Da Vinci apartment complex, city fire Capt. Jaime Moore told the Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/1wu0xgF ).
Another $1.5 million in damage was done to a freeway where a sign melted and traffic-monitoring fiber-optic cables under the pavement may have to be replaced, authorities said.
Fire officials said they suspect arson because the fire erupted so quickly over so much of the building.
"It's very rare for the entire building to be engulfed at once," Moore said. "There may have been foul play."
City fire investigators and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will look at surveillance recordings and use dogs that can sniff fire accelerants.
Flames were visible for miles Monday and rained ash onto freeways flanking the construction site. Some signs melted and portions of U.S. 101 and Interstate 110 were shut down as burning debris fell into lanes.
Three floors of a nearby 16-story city-owned building had fire damage and the other floors sustained water damage.
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Investigators consider arson in LA apartment fire
LOS ANGELES A raging fire Monday destroyed a massive apartment complex under construction in downtown Los Angeles, sending up flames that were visible for miles while raining ash on a large area and snarling rush-hour traffic.
It was one of two destructive early morning fires in the city. The other heavily damaged a building that housed multiple businesses in a neighborhood a couple miles away.
More than 250 firefighters fought the downtown blaze that was sparked around 1:20 a.m. at a block-long building site, Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Ralph Terrazas said.
Flames consumed the seven-story, wood-framed structure and scorched adjacent high-rises before being brought under control within 90 minutes.
The radiant heat was strong enough to burst or crack windows in three nearby buildings that house city and county offices including the LA Department of Water and Power.
Three floors of one adjacent building were damaged by fire, and 14 other floors sustained water damage. That building was closed for the day.
Embers spewed from the fire landed across a freeway, igniting brush and charring a traffic sign. But fortunately winds were light and did not blow the fire even farther.
Portions of U.S. Route 101 and Interstate 110 were shut down for a time as burning debris fell into lanes. Commuter traffic slow-moving on good days remained jammed long after rush hour, with vehicles backed up for miles even after the freeways reopened.
No injuries were reported. The burned structure was planned to be a 1.3 million-square-foot residential building one of a series of very large complexes that have gone up in recent years. The site was still smoldering by late morning, and downtown was littered with ash.
Shortly after 4 a.m., another large fire was reported at a mixed-use building undergoing renovations about 2 miles to the west. More than 100 firefighters from multiple agencies responded and had the flames under control in less than two hours, according to Chief Deputy Mario D. Rueda.
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2 raging fires destroy construction site, damage buildings, snarl traffic in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES A raging fire Monday destroyed a massive apartment complex under construction in downtown Los Angeles, sending up flames that were visible for miles while raining ash on a large area and snarling rush-hour traffic.
It was one of two destructive early morning fires in the city. The other heavily damaged a building that housed multiple businesses in a neighborhood a couple miles away.
More than 250 firefighters fought the downtown blaze that was sparked around 1:20 a.m. at a block-long building site, Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Ralph Terrazas said.
Flames consumed the seven-story, wood-framed structure and scorched adjacent high-rises before being brought under control within 90 minutes.
The radiant heat was strong enough to burst or crack windows in three nearby buildings that house city and county offices including the LA Department of Water and Power.
Three floors of one adjacent building were damaged by fire, and 14 other floors sustained water damage. That building was closed for the day.
Embers spewed from the fire landed across a freeway, igniting brush and charring a traffic sign. But fortunately winds were light and did not blow the fire even farther.
Portions of U.S. Route 101 and Interstate 110 were shut down for a time as burning debris fell into lanes. Commuter traffic slow-moving on good days remained jammed long after rush hour, with vehicles backed up for miles even after the freeways reopened.
No injuries were reported. The burned structure was planned to be a 1.3 million-square-foot residential building one of a series of very large complexes that have gone up in recent years. The site was still smoldering by late morning, and downtown was littered with ash.
Shortly after 4 a.m., another large fire was reported at a mixed-use building undergoing renovations about 2 miles to the west. More than 100 firefighters from multiple agencies responded and had the flames under control in less than two hours, according to Chief Deputy Mario D. Rueda.
LOS ANGELES (AP) A raging fire that may have been intentionally set Monday destroyed a massive apartment complex under construction in downtown Los Angeles, sending up flames that were visible for miles while raining ash on a large area and snarling rush-hour traffic.
It was one of two destructive early morning fires in the city. The other heavily damaged a building that houses multiple businesses in a neighborhood a couple miles away.
More than 250 firefighters fought the downtown blaze that was sparked around 1:20 a.m. at a block-long building site, Fire Department Chief Ralph Terrazas said.
Flames consumed the seven-story, wood-framed structure and scorched adjacent high-rises before being brought under control within 90 minutes.
By nightfall, arson investigators had yet to enter the unsafe structure, but fire officials said the fact that the fire erupted so quickly over so much of the building might point to arson. "It's very rare for the entire building to be engulfed at once," city fire Capt. Jaime Moore told the Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/1wu0xgF ). "There may have been foul play."
The fire caused an estimated $10 million in losses to the complex, Moore said.
Local and federal investigators planned to examine the debris, check surveillance video from nearby buildings and use special dogs that can detect fire accelerants.
The fire's radiant heat was strong enough to burst or crack windows in three nearby buildings that house city and county offices, including the city Department of Water and Power, which reported cracks in at least 160 of its 10-by-4-foot windows.
Three floors of one adjacent building were damaged by fire, and 14 other floors sustained water damage. That building was closed for the day.
Embers spewed from the fire landed across a freeway, stopping traffic, igniting brush and charring traffic signs.
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Fire destroys LA construction site, snarls traffic
LOS ANGELES, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- A massive fire gutted an apartment complex under construction in downtown Los Angeles early Monday and closed nearby highways.
About two-thirds of the 1.3 million-square-foot Da Vinci apartment building was destroyed, fire officials said. Two other buildings were damaged.
The Da Vinci was to be the latest in a complex of apartment buildings in the area. Its website promised "urban-style elegance and European living" with a full-size basketball court, a theater and other attractions.
About 250 firefighters were involved in getting the blaze under control after it was reported at about 1:30 a.m. Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas said most of the fire was out by 3 a.m., but firefighters continued to deal with hot spots.
"This is a historic fire, what we as firefighters would call 'a career fire,'" David Ortiz, a fire department spokesman, told NBC News. "It's huge. I really can't remember a building fire this big and I have been with the department for 13 years."
The heat was so intense that traffic signs on the 110 freeway were destroyed and a nearby building's facade was damaged by "radiant heat." The fire spread to an office tower.
"Large windows gave under the amount of heat," Jaime Moore, another department spokesman, told the Los Angeles Times. "There was active fire on three floors."
Terrazas said the cause of the fire was still unknown.
The 110 and 101 freeways were closed for about three hours. The northbound 110 was expected to reopen at about 8 a.m. local time.
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Massive fire in apartment tower under construction closes LA freeways