A neighboring home was damaged by an East Hollywood construction site fire that generated heat intense enough to blow out the windows of a nearby apartment early Monday in East Hollywood.
A cause was not immediately determined, but authorities called the fire suspicious. One person was detained for questioning.
The wood frame apartment complex fire was reported at about 6 a.m. in the 400 block of Heliotrope Drive, just southwest of the 101 Freeway and north of Beverly Boulevard. Part of the three story building's frame collapsed during the firefight.
The fire, knocked down in about 40 minutes, spread to part of the roof of a nearby house. Heat from the fire shattered window of at least one neighboring apartment, which sustained smoke damage, according to firefighters.
One firefighter suffered minor injuries that were not considered life-threatening. Ten adults and 10 children could not return to their homes due to the fire. The American Red Cross responded to help the residents.
Details regarding a cause of the fire were not immediately available.
In December 2014, one of the largest structure fires in Los Angeles County history burned at a residential construction site in downtown Los Angeles, damaging damaged nearby buildings and signs on the 101 Freeway. Heat from the fire shattered more than 150 window in the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power headquarters building.
A 58-year-old suspect pleaded no contest to arson and was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the fire at the Da Vinci Apartments, which was fueled by gasoline spread on the wood frame building's its fourth floor.
