 |  Residents were displaced from a Burbank apartment house after a fire broke out about 8 p.m. Sunday night. The fire started in a basement apartment of the six-unit building in the 5900 block of S. 79th Street and quickly filled the entire complex with heavy smoke. Firefighters from Burbank and Bedford Park were promptly able to bring the flames under control. Initial reports indicated that a person was trapped inside the building. Police say everyone got out, but a dog was killed in the fire. One man was slightly hurt and transported to the hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation and minor lacerations. According to a person with knowledge of the incident, the man was injured when he broke down the door of the unit where the fire began. The good Samaritan helped the occupant of the burning unit to safety and then returned for the man's dog but the pet was already dead. Authorities say the fire was accidental and started as the result of a cooking mishap. “A tenant was cooking some food in the kitchen when the food caught fire and began to spread,” Burbank police Division Chief Mike Dudlo said. The unit where the blaze began suffered substantial fire damage while the rest of the building incurred heavy smoke damage. It’s not immediately clear how many people lived in the apartment building but residents will have to temporarily find new lodgings. A “KEEP OUT – Uninhabitable” sign was posted by the City of Burbank on the boarded-up front door Monday. According to the police, the Red Cross was notified to render aid to a few of the tenants. A man who identified himself as the owner of the building said he did not know when residents would be able to return but said insurance would cover the cost of restoring the damage. ❒ |
Inter-State Reporting Network's Facebook posts concerning the fire. (Nov. 30, 2014)
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