NYDN High-rise fire: As people ‘contemplate jumping’

Latest news Uncategorized

A large fire erupted on the sixth floor of a Los Angeles high-rise Wednesday, with residents “contemplating jumping” to escape smoke and flames, fire officials said.

One person was seen clinging to the side of the 25-story high rise, perched precariously on a small, unsecured ledge as flames and thick black smoke poured out of a nearby unit.

Fire officials initially tweeted that people “reportedly” jumped from the building to escape fire and smoke. The fire was reported at 8:37 a.m. California time.
At a press conference after the fire was knocked down at 9:56 a.m., officials said “no one jumped out.”

“We had two people contemplating jumping,” Deputy Chief Armando Hogan with the Los Angeles Fire Department said. “We ended up talking to that individual (on the ledge), telling them to stay put. No one jumped.”

Hogan said eight people were injured, including one who was transported to a local hospital in critical condition and a 3-month-old baby.

The inferno apparently started on the sixth floor of the Wilshire Boulevard building near the intersection with S. Barrington Ave. and quickly spread to the seventh floor, officials said.

It was spotted by a firefighter following a response to a separate fire only block away early Wednesday, officials said.

“Persons – number undetermined – have reportedly jumped from that or nearby floors,” an early tweet by the department said.

Harrowing images showed the person clinging to the side of the building before being rescued by a fire department ladder team.

Other residents, some clad in bathrobes, were see on the roof of the building, waiting for first responders to rescue them via helicopter.

“Our firefighters did a tremendous job,” Fire Chief Ralph Terrazas said, adding that the building had no sprinklers.