A man was hospitalized Friday morning after he was exposed to smoke while trying to help a neighbor control a fire in an apartment building in Northridge.
Firefighters responded about 11:45 a.m. Thursday to the 60,000-square-foot, three-story building in the 9800 block of North Reseda Boulevard and found smoke coming from the third floor of the three-story structure, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Flames from a stove-top fire, fueled by cooking oil, spread quickly through the unit and, despite the efforts of the resident and a neighbor using fire extinguishers, the blaze broke windows and allowed strong winds to fan the blaze and send thick smoke through the top floor of the building, the department’s Brian Humphrey said.
“With the thick smoke challenging the escape of occupants from several of the 52 other apartment units, firefighters swiftly ascended ground and aerial ladders to perform strategic vertical ventilation of the attic with chainsaws, making the top floor exit paths more tenable to escapees, and allowing their colleagues with hose lines to more readily attack the seat of the fire,” Humphrey said.
Optional fire sprinklers were not present in the building, but properly functioning fire alarms did allow most residents to safely escape, including a man who was rescued by firefighters from a third-floor apartment, Humphrey said.
Paramedics examined three people, and one person, the neighbor who tried to help the resident extinguish the fire, was taken to a hospital for treatment of smoke exposure.
The fire was extinguished in 33 minutes.