17 South LA residents displaced, 2 hospitalized in construction site fire

LOS ANGELES - A construction site fire that spread through a South Los Angeles neighborhood early Tuesday morning left two people in their 60s hospitalized with serious injuries and 17 residents displaced after their homes were destroyed. 

Los Angeles City firefighters responded to a call about what they thought was a rubbish fire around 3:20 a.m. However, what they found was an apartment building that was under construction fully engulfed in flames. The city-block-sized fire was threatening and eventually spread to several homes in the 4300 block of S. Lima Street, located in South LA’s Central-Alameda neighborhood off Long Beach and Vernon avenues. 

LAFD Captain Cody Weireter said because the building where the fire started was in its framing stage, it caused the fire to spread very quickly. 

Los Angeles Fire Department officials confirmed a total of seven buildings were impacted by the fire and five of them were deemed a total loss. 

Fire authorities said a 66-year-old man and a 64-year-old woman were taken to an area hospital with serious burn injuries and a third patient in his 30s declined medical treatment. 

A resident told FOX 11 the building had been under construction for at least six months. 

Crews continue to monitor hot spots at the scene.

The American Red Cross and the LA City Emergency Management Department were providing assistance to the displaced residents. 

Arson investigators are at the scene as the cause of the fire remains unknown.