On the evening of December 15th, a structure fire broke out at a two-story apartment building located at 1301 S Berendo St in the Pico-Union neighborhood. According to a Los Angeles Fire Department alert, the incident, officially recorded as INC#1507, began at approximately 7:23 PM with smoke visibly emanating from the second floor, which houses residential units over commercial spaces. Firefighters launched an offensive operation, calling in an additional task force as they battled the flames.
The situation escalated as the fire prompted a response from over 70 firefighters who arrived to combat the aggressive blaze. In a concerted effort, these first responders managed to locate, isolate, and extinguish the fire in a span of 41 minutes. Remarkably, “no injuries reported,” as mentioned in a follow-up LAFD alert detailing the knockdown of the fire. The fire notably compromised the stability of the floor in one area of the building, causing concerns about structural integrity.
Following the containment of the fire, the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety was dispatched to the scene to evaluate the building’s safety. Amidst the examination, concerns about what sparked the fire prompted the Incident Commander to call upon an LAFD Arson investigator, whose expertise would contribute to a thorough cause determination…