Firefighter Suffers Heat Exhaustion Battling Blaze
SHERMAN OAKS — A city firefighter was slightly injured Thursday during an early morning blaze at an apartment building.
The firefighter was listed in good condition at Sherman Oaks Hospital where he has being treated for heat exhaustion, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells. There were no other injuries.
The fire spread from an apartment on the third floor into the common attic, where it posed a threat to the rest of the building, Wells said.
The Fire Department was alerted at 5:20 a.m. and rushed to the building in the 15500 block of Moorpark Street, where firefighters used ladders to climb to the top of the structure.
There they hacked away at the roof and broke third-story windows to ventilate the apartment building. Eighty-five firefighters knocked down the blaze in about 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, the building manager and firefighters knocked on doors to wake up and evacuate residents, Wells said.
“We are very fortunate we didn’t have more injuries,” Wells said. “Many people are still sleeping at that time of the morning.”
Damages were estimated at $135,000.
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