Residents alarmed by multiple vacant building fires near downtown LA apartment complex

The Brief

  • Residents near several vacant buildings in downtown Los Angeles say they are worried after multiple fires erupted on their block in recent months.
  • New cellphone video obtained by FOX 11 captured flames shooting into the sky as firefighters responded to a massive Mother’s Day fire near occupied apartments.
  • City Councilmember Ysabel Jurado said her office is working with city departments to address unsafe and unsecured properties in the area.

LOS ANGELES Residents living near a cluster of vacant buildings in downtown Los Angeles say they are increasingly worried after several nearby properties caught fire in recent months — including one blaze that erupted just feet from their apartment complex.

New cellphone video obtained exclusively by FOX 11 shows a massive fire tearing through a building on Hope Street around 4 a.m. on Mother’s Day, sending flames shooting high into the sky near occupied apartments.

“It was really hot in there. I had to back up at one point. It felt like I was almost melting,” said resident Alex Paulson, who recorded the fire on his cellphone.

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