A two-alarm fire early Tuesday morning in an apartment complex in Long Beach left two cats and a dog dead, although other animals were rescued, according to the Long Beach Fire Department.
No people were injured in the fire, which was reported at 12:50 a.m. Tuesday when multiple callers said they could see smoke coming from an apartment balcony at a four-story building in the 2300 block of East 17th Street, a spokesman for the LBFD said.
A second alarm was issued upon the arrival of fire crews because by then, the blaze had spread from the balcony into the apartment unit, then to the second and third floors of the building.
About 50 firefighters responded and put the fire out by 1:10 a.m.
Over a dozen cats, dogs and birds were rescued. One apartment had most of the animals inside, but the mix of creatures in that unit was not immediately available.
Animal control officers were brought in to assist.
The residents of three apartments were displaced and the American Red Cross was summoned to assist them.
The cause of the fire was not immediately clear.