Fire ignites inside Canoga Park skilled nursing facility

Twenty patients were evacuated in their hospital beds after a fire broke out at a skilled nursing facility in Canoga Park on Tuesday morning.

The fire broke out just before 5 a.m. at Topanga Terrance & the Villas located in the 22100 block of Roscoe Boulevard.

The other 70 patients who were not evacuated were sheltered in place inside the building. 

Firefighters at the scene reported thick black smoke coming from the laundry room. They later discovered the fire started in a small bathroom nearby in the facility.

"Convalescent facilities like this are our worst-case scenario because they are going to generate a lot of patients. They have a lot of sick patients inside, they have a lot of different medical problems," Los Angeles Fire Department Battalion Chief Andrew Wordin explained.

Firefighters quickly knocked down the blaze and no injuries were reported.