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3-alarm blaze destroys Los Angeles apartment building

LAFD companies used ladder pipes, exterior operations during the fire in Lomita

By Corinne Purtill
Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — A massive fire broke out Saturday evening at an apartment complex in Lomita.

Los Angeles County fire crews responded to a call at 6:50 p.m. in the 2100 block of Palos Verdes Drive North, Fire Department officials said.

By 10 p.m., firefighters were still battling the massive three-alarm blaze at the Vista Verde complex. Live video from CBS News showed flames tearing through the roof, which partly collapsed in the first two hours of the blaze.

At one point, it appeared that a transformer exploded near fire crews, who shot water down from ladders and blasted hoses from the ground and a portion of the roof at the roaring flames. Video from Fox 11 News, which lasted for more than an hour, showed parts of the rooftop had collapsed amid the inferno.

Clouds of smoke roiled from the site, which is adjacent to the Green Hills Memorial Park cemetery complex in Rancho Palos Verdes.

Real estate listings describe Vista Verde as a two-story complex with at least 25 units. Injuries have not yet been reported.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

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