Los Angeles Fire Attorney: 2 Hospitalized in West LA High-Rise Apartment Fire

Firefighters with heavy equipment climbed stairs to battle an 11th-floor West LA high-rise apartment fire that sent two people suffering from smoke exposure to a hospital.

Details regarding the victims’ conditions were not immediately available, but firefighters said the injuries are not considered life threatening.

The fire broke out just before noon inside an 11th-floor unit at 11740 Wilshire Blvd, the 25-floor Barrington Plaza. The fire was isolated to one two-bedroom unit — built in 1961, it was not equipped with a sprinkler system — on the 11th floor and knocked down in about one hour.

Firefighters responded to several reports of individuals stranded in stairwells. Previous reports indicated three people had been hospitalized, but that figure was later updated to two people.

Residents in some floors above the burning unit did not respond to alarms and leave the building, said Brian Humphrey, of the Los Angeles Fire Department. They might have been exposed to smoke.

“In a fire like this, the most important thing is to know your exits,” said Humphrey.

Firefighters with heavy equipment strapped to their backs climbed stairs to reach the burning unit. An LAFD helicopter also responded to the site and landed on a helipad at a nearby high-rise building.

Some residents on floors below the fire were asked to shelter in place, said Armando Hogan, of the LA Fire Department. The tactic keeps stairwells clear so firefighters have a path to the fire.

“We have to hike up stairs to get to that floor with equipment that weighs upwards of 100 pounds,” Hogan said.

Details regarding a cause were not immediately available.

Wilshire Boulevard was closed from San Vicente Boulevard to Bundy Drive. Several firefighting vehicles were parked along the busy route west of the 405 Freeway.

More than 180 firefighters responded to the location from stations throughout Los Angeles.