Another fire at abandoned downtown LA building raises safety concerns

LOS ANGELES - Another fire at an abandoned building along Hope Street in downtown Los Angeles is raising new concerns about safety and the city’s efforts to secure the properties, where residents have reported repeated fires, unauthorized entry and other problems for months.

The latest fire broke out next to a property the owner began tearing down last week after repeated fires. Residents say the neighboring property caught fire that same night.

"This is unacceptable," Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement to FOX 11.

Bass said the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety issued an order requiring the owner of 1235 Hope Street to clean up and barricade the building after a fire there.

The mayor’s office said it continues working with residents, business owners, LAPD, LAFD and LADBS to secure the buildings, including efforts to install cameras, ensure property owners hire private security and make changes to building facades.

FOX 11 has been reporting on repeated fires and safety concerns surrounding abandoned properties in the South Park neighborhood. Following those reports, the city declared multiple buildings public nuisances, metal barriers were installed and a police surveillance tower was brought in. Residents say people continue to enter the properties.

"All the homeless are just going in and out of there, making it their little home," said nearby resident Jeremy Lara. "Recycle guys, trying to scrape some metal. It was a pain in the butt to walk Charlie, or for me and my girl to walk outside."

The fires are not the only concern on the block. A man was found dead Sunday morning in the 1200 block of Hope Street, according to LAPD.

Central Division officers responded around 10:36 a.m. and requested help from the Los Angeles Fire Department. Paramedics pronounced an adult man dead at the scene. LAPD said officers documented the incident as a natural death investigation.

Police said LAFD is the lead agency investigating the fires and referred questions about the cause of those incidents to the fire department. There is no confirmed connection between the death and the fires.

Nearby resident Jenishia Jones described seeing a man removed from the area in a body bag.

"They pulled a dead body out of the porta-potties," Jones said.

The property owner began tearing down one of the buildings last week after repeated fires. But before the demolition was finished, another fire broke out on the neighboring property that same night.

Jens Midthun, president of the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council, said the problem extends beyond Hope Street.

"This is happening all over downtown," Midthun said. "These are really important to us because they’re surrounded by residential areas. But the Fashion District also has a bunch of abandoned buildings, and everything is catching on fire."

Residents say they raised concerns about the buildings months before the latest fires. Two months ago, one resident warned that a woman staying inside another property could be at risk if the building caught fire.

Midthun said residents have organized to push for changes to the city’s enforcement process.

"These residents have been great. They’re a very organized group," he said. "We’ve called for streamlining the process to declare properties nuisances and get real teeth to it."

According to Midthun, at least three properties along the block have been declared public nuisances.

The mayor’s office said it continues working with city agencies and property owners to address safety concerns, but residents say they want stronger measures to keep people out of the buildings and prevent another fire.