Officers Rescue Man, Woman From Apartment Building Fire In Long Beach
LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Firefighters Thursday extinguished a blaze that erupted in an apartment complex in Long Beach.
Around 2 a.m., crews were sent to the 400 block of Chestnut Avenue for report of a second-alarm fire, according to the Long Beach Fire Department.
Upon their arrival, firefighters located a 41-year-old man and 33-year-old woman who became trapped within the 20-unit building.
"We were about to go to bed and we heard screaming and glass breaking," said resident Audrina Letva. "At first we thought it was just a fight because we heard commotion. When we turned our music down and we listened intently, it sounded like someone was saying 'Get that person out, get that person out'."
Three officers who happened to be in the area due to Wednesday's massive power outage were waved down by a bystander. They used a wedge to pry open security bars located on the bedroom window to rescue the victims.
The man and woman were then transported to a local trauma center and hospital with life-threatening injuries sustained from thermal burns and smoke inhalation in the fire.
Officials said the woman remains in intensive care. Further updates on the man's condition was not immediately available.
No officers were injured during the incident.
Two apartments were damaged in the fire.
Other residents who live in the building were evacuated and placed in a bus while crews extinguished the flames.
The Red Cross was called to the scene to assist 27 people who were displaced by the fire.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
At this time, authorities are investigating where today's fire may have been related to Wednesday's electrical fire, which erupted in three different Southern California Edison (SCE) underground vaults. Around 4,000 residents were left without power.
Firefighters said the electrical vault could have caught fire from an overload in the system while power was being shifted to another grid.
About 2,600 people remain without electricity this morning.
At 10 a.m., officials temporarily shut off power for 30 minutes to test an underground system in the area.
Officials have not clarified when power is expected to be restored, however, SCE reports there will be intermittent power outages until the problem is resolved.
