A fire at a large apartment building in Chinatown early Friday morning injured six people, including two firefighters, and temporarily displaced dozens of families.
At 3:43 a.m. Friday, Los Angeles firefighters responded to a fire that started at a construction site on Bunker Hill Avenue and then spread to a nearby three-story apartment building, according to a news alert.
More than 130 firefighters attended the scene and extinguished the fire within an hour and a half. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
An estimated 70 people have been displaced from the building while the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety evaluates the residence to determine which units can be safely reoccupied.
Six people were injured in the fire, including a 90-year-old man who was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition. A 55-year-old woman was taken to hospital with a non-life-threatening burn. Two other people were evaluated for injuries but declined to be taken to hospital.
One firefighter was taken to an occupational health center for an injury, and another was treated on scene for possible heat exhaustion.
A neighborhood resident told KTLA 5 that the yard where the fire started had become a homeless encampment and neighbors had expressed concern that something like this could happen.
Firefighters did not say whether there were any signs of an encampment.
Authorities said the incident could cause traffic disruptions in the downtown area, including West College, Alpine and Yale streets. Motorists are advised to use alternate routes.
