Los Angeles, Ca
Fire burns through apartment building in Koreatown, leaving families displaced
Families are left without a home after a massive fire burned through an apartment building in L.A.’s Koreatown.
The fire occurred on Sept. 26 at a building on the 750 block of South Normandie Avenue in the early morning hours.
When firefighters arrived, smoke was billowing from the roof and the flames destroyed multiple apartment units, leaving families displaced and without a place to sleep.
“There are six units total that have suffered severe damage,” said Celeste Kessler with the Los Angeles Tenants Union. “What really blows my mind is that the L.A. Housing Department has declared this a habitable unit.”
Inside Maria Vargas’ apartment, the fire burned through her kitchen, bathroom, personal belongings and several walls, leaving the unit unsafe and uninhabitable. The ceiling was burned through where water can be seen leaking and a clear view into her neighbor’s apartment is visible.
Vargas said she’s frustrated over the lack of ability to do basic things like cook or bathe in her home while also worrying about taking care of her three children.
“I’m not doing very well,” Vargas told KTLA’s John Fenoglio through a Spanish translator. “I’m very worried. We need help to leave this apartment. We can’t stay here.”
Many of the displaced residents don’t have anywhere else to go.
“We spent the night in our car,” said Margarita Linares, a mother of two children whose apartment was also destroyed.
Frustrated tenants told KTLA they’ve tried contacting the building’s manager but he reportedly wouldn’t answer their questions or even speak with them until the following Monday.
“TDI Properties, the owner of this building, has been pretty negligent, I would say, in terms of responding to this fire,” Kessler said. “They have not been speaking with tenants. Tenants went to their office and they refused to open the door so the tenants are grasping at straws to find a place to go where they can live with their children and TDI is just ignoring them.”
Displaced residents are left scrambling and had asked for assistance with temporary housing but said they’ve been completely ignored.
“I can’t believe that this is the reaction I’m getting,” Linares said. “I always pay my rent on time and now that I need something from them, I can’t believe this is the reaction.”
“Council District 10 was on the scene, but so far they have not offered any recourse,” Kessler said. “They talked about hotel vouchers for tenants but at the end of the day, they told us they were out of them. So they truly haven’t been much help, either.”
“There should not be a circumstance where individuals are displaced due to a fire and they are unable to find housing in the short term,” an attorney, Ryan Kerns, explained of the situation. “If the landlord’s negligence was the cause of the fire, then the landlord is responsible for relocating costs and finding replacement apartments. If the landlord can find replacement apartments in the same unit that are of the same value as the apartments the tenants were already having, that can potentially constitute the replacement value of that property.”
On Saturday night, a spokesperson from Council District 10 told KTLA they are working on finding interim housing for the displaced tenants.
A GoFundMe page organized by the Los Angeles Tenants Union to help the affected tenants can be found here.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
KTLA has reached out to TDI Properties for a statement but has not heard back.
Los Angeles, Ca
Vehicle, 2 occupants plunge into crowded Southern California harbor
Two people were taken to the hospital after a vehicle they were inside plunged into the harbor Sunday night in Marina Del Rey, officials confirmed to KTLA.
Details are limited and It’s unclear exactly how the incident occurred, but authorities with the Los Angeles County Fire Department responded to 4675 Admiralty Way just after 6 p.m. on reports of the vehicle in the water.
L.A. County Fire Department Public Information Officer Marco Rodriguez said the two occupants were able to get themselves out of the vehicle after it went into the water.
Both were examined by medical personnel with the fire department and taken to a nearby hospital in unknown condition.
Rodriguez said that two L.A. County Lifeguard divers were deployed to ensure there were no other occupants trapped in the vehicle.
A witness, Johnny Hamcheck, told KTLA that a third person, a woman, exited the vehicle before it went into water, though officials did not confirm that detail.
Footage of the recovery effort showed crews attaching large yellow floating devices to the vehicle as it was anchored to a crane and eventually pulled out of the water and loaded onto a tow truck.
The vehicle showed heavy front-end damage, presumably from crashing through the steel railing and into the water.
An investigation into the crash is ongoing and no further details were provided.
Los Angeles, Ca
Armed robbers hit couple in broad daylight on high-end Beverly Hills street
Two people were hospitalized after a broad daylight armed robbery on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills Sunday, police confirmed to KTLA.
Officers with the Beverly Hills Police Department responded to the 400 block of North Rodeo Drive, at the intersection of Brighton Way just before 1:30 p.m. on reports of the incident.
According to a BHPD news release, a man and a woman were waiting outside a boutique when they were approached by four suspects, one of whom pulled out a gun during a physical altercation between the victims and the suspects.
“During the altercation, the suspects forcibly took two designer handbags – one from each victim – containing cash and cellphones,” police said. “One cellphone was recovered nearby. The suspects also attempted to steal the male victim’s jewelry but were unsuccessful.”
In video of a portion of the incident obtained by KTLA, four suspects all wearing dark clothing and hooded sweatshirts can be seen running from the scene. At least one of the suspects has an item, possibly one of the handbags, in his hands.
The crew was last seen running up Rodeo Drive and ducking into an alleyway.
It is unclear if anyone was injured, but the male victim was seen on the ground as the victim and another person knelt over him, one of which was yelling for help.
Medical personnel with the Beverly Hills Fire Department responded to the incident, but authorities said the man and woman sought their own medical attention at a local hospital.
Their conditions were not immediately available.
An investigation into the robbery remains ongoing and anyone with information is urged to contact BHPD at 310-285-2125. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-222-8477 or leave tips online at www.lacrimestoppers.com.
Los Angeles, Ca
Authorities searching for at-risk missing teen last seen in Lancaster
Authorities in Los Angeles County are searching for a teenage girl they say could be at risk.
According to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, 13-year-old Aleah Ashley Salgado was last seen at 11 p.m. Friday night on the 3000 block of East Avenue H-2 in Lancaster.
Authorities say her family is concerned for her well being.
Salgado was described as Hispanic, 5-foot-4 and 120 pounds, with long black wavy hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a black T-shirt, grey sweatpants and black shoes.
Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Lancaster Station at 661-948-8466.
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