Six people were injured and five of them were hospitalized in a three-story accidental motel fire in the Westlake area Christmas evening, including two in critical condition, fire officials said.
Flames at the JJ Park Motel at 1906 W. 3rd St. were reported at 6:12 p.m., Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Erik Scott said.
It took 100 firefighters about 21 minutes to extinguish the fire, Scott said.
Six patients between the ages of 28 and 73 were treated at the scene, he said.
Of the five people sent to hospitals, two were in critical condition with burns and smoke inhalation.
When firefighters arrived, they saw residents trying to escape from second-floor windows by climbing down bed sheets tied together or on human ladders of people standing on each other’s shoulders, Scott said.
“Firefighters arrived within minutes and were able to use ground ladders and perform multiple rescues including some people who were wheelchair-bound,” he said.
About 25 units of the 135-unit residential hotel were damaged by fire, smoke and/or water, Scott said.
Arson investigators combed through the debris and determined the cause was accidental after tracing the fire’s origin to the stove area of a second-floor kitchen, he said.
Residents were able to begin evacuating immediately because there were working smoke alarms in the hotel, Scott said.
— Staff and wire reports