Several residents were in need of rescue after being trapped in a burning small-scale apartment building in Los Angeles late Wednesday night.
The fire in the two-story structure on the 2600 block of South Maple Avenue was reported around 11:45 p.m.
The flames apparently erupted in a first-floor apartment before quickly spreading to the rest of the building.
“I think it was the kitchen area,” property owner Rudy Hernandez said. “We’re very fortunate that everyone was able to get out … There was only one person there who did suffer a little bit from smoke inhalation, so they were taken to the hospital.”
Video showed firefighters using a ladder to help one person climb out of a second-story window.
A quick response from Los Angeles firefighters was needed to get everyone out safely, with as many as six people being helped out of the building. The Fire Department later confirmed that a total of two patients were transported in fair condition for smoke inhalation.
Officials said that both hospitalized patients have been released.
Red Cross personnel were also at the scene to assist those displaced by the fire. It is unclear when they will be able to return to the building.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
