[symple_googlemap title=”Apartment fire Hollywood” location=”400 block of North Heliotrope Drive, Hollywood, CA” height=”300″ zoom=”16″]
A man was arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with a “suspicious” fire Monday that destroyed an apartment building under construction southeast of Hollywood and damaged an adjacent apartment building, a garage and a house, authorities said.
Los Angeles police Officer Mike Lopez said 20-year-old Benicio Garcia was detained at the scene and later arrested on suspicion of arson on a structure. He was being held in lieu of $75,000 bail.
Firefighters sent to the 400 block of North Heliotrope Drive shortly after 6 a.m. extinguished the flames in about 45 minutes, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Amy Bastman, who said the cause of the fire was listed as “suspicious and incendiary.”
One firefighter suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital in good condition, the LAFD reported.
Intense heat from the fire blew out some windows of the adjacent apartment building, which was occupied.
Ten adults and 10 children were displaced due to the fire, and the American Red Cross was assisting them, the LAFD reported.
—City News Service