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Hollywood apartment blaze injures firefighter
(
Erik Scott / Los Angeles Fire Department
)
A fast-moving fire tore through two apartment buildings that were under construction in East Hollywood, injuring one firefighter and leading to a man being arrested.
The alleged arsonist, Bernicio Garcia, is 20 years old, LAFD Fire Capt. Erik Scott told KPCC.
L.A. City firefighters responded just after 6 a.m. to the 400 block of Heliotrope Drive. They found the two buildings fully involved in flames.
https://twitter.com/PIOErikScott/status/874258897195778050
The fire was knocked down after efforts from 107 firefighters. One female firefighter was transported to the hospital with minor injuries, but 10 adults and 10 children were displaced from nearby homes.
"With those buildings under construction, they're producing such high amounts of fire and heat that they did blow out some windows to another occupied apartment building and ... that other one-story home which was occupied by a family," LAFD spokesperson Amy Bastman told KPCC.
Investigators were trying to determine what caused the fire, but it appeared to be incendiary and suspicious, according to Scott.
This story has been updated.
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