On Thursday, November 8, at 4:12 PM, 12 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 3 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Arson Unit, 1 EMS Battalion Captain, 2 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams and 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, a total of 74 Los Angeles Fire Department personnel, assisted by 1 Task Force of Los Angeles County Firefighters deployed in Automatic Aid, all under the direction of LAFD Battalion Chief Chris Kawai, responded to a Greater Alarm Structure Fire at 1541 North Martel Avenue in Hollywood.
Firefighters arrived quickly to discover intense flames showing from a 2nd floor window on the south side of a three-story apartment building. Extending hoselines down long hallways of the mostly center-hallway structure, Firefighters engaged in fierce battle with well entrenched flames in the one unit.
As thick smoke all but filled adjacent hallways, additional teams of Firefighters scoured the adjacent apartments in the 53-unit building, assisting occupants in their evacuation as well as sheltering several others in place. The fire was confined to the apartment of origin and fully extinguished in just 32 minutes.
There were no injuries.
The one woman displaced by the blaze received placement assistance from the building owner. Loss from the fire is estimated at $140,000 ($120,000 structure & $20,000 contents). The cause of the fire remains under investigation.