West. L.A. high-rise fire causes millions of dollars in damage

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Movers transport furniture from the Barrington Plaza Apartments. Some residents have been moving out of the apartments after a fire in the high-rise on Oct. 18. Many occupants have realized that the building is not equipped with a sprinkler system. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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A workers cleans the face of the Barrington Plaza Apartments after a fire. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Resident Lindsay Bustillos, left, packs her apartment as her sonKai Worawan, is watched by his grandmother Diane Bustillos at the Barrington Plaza Apartments in West Los Angeles. Lindsay found out during a fire at the apartments on Oct. 18 that the building is not equipped with a sprinkler system. So Bustillos, her husband and son are packing up and headed to Thousand Oaks. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Resident Lindsay Bustillos spends some time with her son, Kai Worawan, on the balcony of their apartment, a few floors down from where a fire broke out at the Barrington Plaza Apartments in West Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Lindsay Bustillos, holding her son Kai, and her mother Diane Bustillos watch as firefighters contain the blaze at the Barrington Plaza, where Lindsay and her son live. “I smelled the smoke and immediately grabbed the baby and diaper bag,” said Lindsay about her escape from the burning building. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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A man is taken to an ambulance after being brought out of Barrington Plaza during the fire. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

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A Barrington Plaza resident is brought out on a wheelchair. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Tenant Gizem Yontar, left, hugs her friend Ninoofar Ghassemi as firefighters work to contain the fire. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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A man is treated after being brought out of the burning Barrington Plaza. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

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Firefighters scrutinize damage to the building. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Firefighters look out from a charred balcony after putting out the fire, which is under investigation. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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A man is taken to an ambulance after being brought out of Barrington Plaza. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

By Joseph Serna

Oct. 21, 2013 10:07 AM PT

Los Angeles fire officials continue to investigate the cause of a high-rise apartment blaze last week that critically injured two people and forced more than 100 residents to find temporary housing.

The fire broke out Friday afternoon in an 11^th floor apartment at the Barrington Plaza in the 11700 block of Wilshire Boulevard. The fire displaced up to 150 residents living in 51 units on the seventh through 11^th floors, said fire Capt. Jaime Moore.

Eight people were injured, including a 2-year-old girl and her grandfather who had been trapped in a smoky stairwell, KTLA reported. They were listed in critical condition Sunday.

L.A. fire officials said the Barrington Plaza building is not equipped with a sprinkler system. Because it was built 52 years ago, it does not fall under state regulations later adopted that buildings taller than 75 feet include such fire-suppression systems unless granted an exemption.

The fire started in a unit where four college students were living, one of the residents told KTLA.

Damage to the building was expected to be in the millions of dollars, Moore said. Much of the damage was caused by water used to put out the fire. More than 200 firefighters aided in the effort.

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