A fire broke out Tuesday in a two-story apartment building in the Chesterfield Square area of South Los Angeles, sending a 12- year-old boy to the hospital with possible smoke inhalation and displacing a family of eight. Photo via OnScene.TV.
Arson investigators were at a fire-engulfed apartment after an early morning blaze Tuesday sent a 12-year-old boy to a hospital and forced a family of eight out of a South Los Angeles residence.
The family’s mother told NBC4 she had been been targeted with death threats from neighbors because they believe she receives government assistance and she feared an attack.
The cause of the fire was under investigation by the arson team and there was no word from officials about the alleged death threats.
The hospitalized boy may have suffered smoke inhalation, according to officials.
The flames were reported in a second-floor unit of the apartment building at 12:53 a.m. at 1771 E. 55th St. in the Chesterfield Square area, said Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The fire was knocked down in 13 minutes by 33 firefighters, she said.
The boy was taken to a hospital in fair condition, Stewart said, adding that the people displaced — one adult and seven children — were being assisted by the Red Cross.
There was no indication that any other apartment unit in the building was affected by the fire.
—City News Service
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