Investigators Say Arsonist Caused Fire

Investigators with the Arson Counter-Terrorism Section of the Los Angeles Fire Department name arson as the cause of a massive structure fire that ripped through a six-unit townhouse under construction on the 12300 block of Gorham Avenue, LAFD spokesperson Erik Scott told Patch.

Some 35 people were evacuated from their homes after firefighters were dispatched to the blaze at about 3:37 a.m., LAFD spokesperson Jamie Moore told Patch.

The fire was contained at approximately 5:16 a.m. with all occupants successfully evacuated injury-free, Moore said.

Nearby, fire crews set up temporary housing and brought in buses to help keep displaced residents warm. ABC Channel 7 shows arial footage of residents crowding Gorham Avenue next to several LAFD fire engines in the early morning hours.  

American Red Cross spokesperson Monica Diaz told Patch that residents affected by the fire will be interviewed to assess their loss. The organization should complete its assessment by late afternoon, Diaz said.

Because of the fact that the building was in the framing stages of construction, firefighters knew they were going to need quite a bit more resources, Moore said.

"We ended up fighting this fire with 26 fire companies, 10 rescue ambulances—because of the threat with all of the (smoke) exposures—and nine command teams, putting us at a total of 155 firefighters," Moore said.

Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire, and aren't ruling out the possibility that it was intentionally set. At about 7:45 a.m., a LAFD arson unit dog was sent in to canvass the charred remains of the structure to help make a determination of the fire's cause.

"We use every resource we can," said Moore. "(Investigators) are going to be looking at the fire itself, they're going to be looking at the depth of char, the area of origin, what was in that area. They're going to be looking at utilities—whether or not there was power going to the building—because it's in the framing stages of construction. They're going to see if it had natural gas, if it was going to a meter. … We are very thorough in our investigation in trying to determine the cause for this."

An adjacent house to the west of the fire sustained significant damage to its rear portion and was left uninhabitable, Moore told Patch.

Two vehicles parked in the alley near where the fire originated were completely destroyed by the heat. Several other vehicles in a nearby carport suffered melted bumpers. The charred remains of a small tree sat on an apartment building patio which overlooked the alley directly across from the construction site. Nearby windows were cracked and debris littered the alleyway.  

"My mom got up a minute or two before I did, called 911,"  said Gabbie Reade, a junior at Brentwood School who lives on the second floor of the apartment complex across the ally. "I opened the blinds and it was extremely hot. I've never felt that kind of heat before. It was orange and red and pink. … With the light from the fire, she thought I was up studying—at 3:30 a.m. I don't know why—and I woke up and freaked out. Everyone was screaming, it was like a real life nightmare. It was just unbelievable I grabbed my computer, my phone and my backpack and I ran downstairs. We helped the elderly lady across the hall get down. Everyone got out safely."

Dean Heck and his wife could see the flames from their house across Gorham Avenue.

"It looks much worse back here than it does from the street out front," said Heck. "My wife got me out of bed, we came out front. The heat was absolutely insane and the flames were double high. They were twice as high as these structures' roofs. The plume of embers coming off of there was even scarier than the heat."