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By NATHAN SOLIS
Others woke up to the screams of others, while still others saw the fire outside their windows.
Just before 3:00 am on Tuesday, flames spread over several homes in South Los Angeles. People fled with loved ones in blankets or pets in their arms. The intense heat was felt by neighbors even down the road.
A fire of the same size as a city-block was soon burning in South Los Angeles. It destroyed five homes, and damaged two more. Three people suffered injuries, while 17 others were made homeless.
Residents were stunned by the size and speed of the fire, which swept through a working-class area. This prompted an investigation to determine the cause.
Los Angeles Fire Department reports that more than 100 firefighters fought the fire at the 1500 block East Vernon Avenue, Central-Alameda. The fire ravaged an apartment complex under construction, and spread quickly to homes nearby.
LAFD spokeswoman Margaret Stewart confirmed that arson investigators were on scene, as part of a city protocol for fires in structures. The cause of fire was under investigation, and authorities are unsure when they will reach a conclusion, she said. It was a quick fire that ripped through the wooden framework of the construction building.
“When you have a building that’s in the framing stages, it’s going to burn hot and fast because you have all of the wood exposed and nothing stops; there’s no compartmentalization,” Stewart said. There’s no way to stop the fire, and it burns very hot.
According to records from the city, the building was under construction as a four-story housing complex. Diaz said that the site was right outside the house where Jerardo Diaz and his family have lived for the past 35 years. He added that there were no security guards on the premises. Diaz had asked construction workers to build a larger fence so that his family would have more privacy.
Diaz, 30 years old, woke up to the sound of his father screaming on Tuesday. The flames were visible outside the home.
Diaz pulled his disabled father out of the home.
Diaz stated that “his skin was peeling away on his face and his hair had completely burnt off to the side.”
Diaz, after the fire had been extinguished, said: “When we left the house we could see the flames already on the porch.” I don’t understand — it was like an instant. “All of a suddenly, it was destroyed.”
Diaz was thankful that he and his family were able to get out of harm’s way. Kimberly Erendira said that the heat was unbearable.
Tomas Saqueic (53), a Hollywood resident, rushed to the site on Tuesday after hearing about it. The cousin of the man who started the fire lives next to the site.
He said that although Saqueic’s cousin was in El Salvador at the time of the fire, there were other members of his family who were also home and escaped without injury. The roof collapsed and part of the home was burnt.
Saqueic stated, “We have many memories.” It’s an important property. It’s full of important documents and other stuff, but everything inside has been damaged.
He said that the timing of the incident, right before the holiday season, made it more difficult on his family.
He said, “Usually, families are gathering for holidays and people prepare to get together with them, but you never imagine this.”
According to the authorities, a 66-year old man and 64-year old woman had to be treated at a hospital after suffering serious burns. A 30-year-old male was also evaluated on site, but refused to go to another facility for treatment.
The fire was put out in 78 minutes by 140 firefighters, including some from the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
According to the office of Councilmember Curren Curren, who represents this area, he met the victims on Tuesday afternoon. The statement said that the councilmember “has actively been engaged in collaboration efforts with other city departments and the Emergency Management Department to address the crisis.” The Red Cross, local charities and other city departments are working together to help affected families.
Emergency Management Department (EMD), which coordinated the emergency response, teamed up with L.A. Department of Transportation in order to transport displaced residents into a temporary shelter. Emergency Management Department spokesperson Joseph Riser stated that the Red Cross would help to determine what steps should be taken for those who are unable to return home.
Raymon Chaidec was woken up by booms and shouts around 3 am. A fire was out of control and towering over the poles in his street.
Chaidec (58) pointed his fingers to the heavens and said, “It’s even higher than those poles you can see now that are burned.”
Chaidec and his daughter hurried out of their house and watched as a fire spread across the road and onto their property.
He said, “We were prepared to flee.” We were afraid when the fire got close to our home, but it was not damaged. “We are so, very lucky.”
Francisco Rivas, a 37-year-old man, was woken up by his mother screaming, “The building is on fire.”
He opened his blinds and was greeted by a bright orange glow coming from the nearby fire.
He said, “Everything had been lit.” The flames were high.
He spent the morning spraying the ash from the house and yard with the garden hose, even though the fire had not reached his home.
Aaron Vazquez (28), felt the vibrations in his house and heard loud explosions. The man looked through the window, saw an orange glow but did not think that it was fire.
Vazquez: “I was thinking it was an ambulance.” “I see flames when I look through the window of my kitchen.” The dogs were crying and whimpering in the rear, coming from behind the neighboring houses.
Vazquez managed to evacuate his family from the house, but returned inside in search of his cat. As he looked for his cat and eventually located it, he felt intense heat from the nearby fire.
He said, “It’s a big inferno.”
Vazquez believes that his home suffered some smoke and water damage, but it was not completely destroyed. Heat radiated from the building site caused the sides of nearby homes to be burned.
After the fire broke out, the neighbors watched as the crews destroyed the remains of the construction site. LAFD Captain. Carlos Caceres, after city officials were convinced that the building could not be repaired by crews.
Construction workers began flooding the streets after the LAFD had cleared the area before 10 am to fix the damaged power lines.
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