Fire at Lakewood YMCA kills 1 man, injures firefighter
A blaze erupted at a YMCA building in Lakewood early Thursday, leaving one man dead and a firefighter hospitalized for his injuries, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
The LAFD got a call at around 1:42 a.m. about a second-alarm fire in a commercial building in the 4000 block of South Street, officials said. Fire crews arrived at about 1:45 a.m. and saw smoke and an active fire.
The blaze was knocked down at about 2:49 a.m. Four aerial trucks and 10 fire engines were dispatched to fight the fire.
As authorities began lifting evacuation orders, some Oak fire residents were learning whether they had homes to return to.
A man was found dead inside the building, officials said. The incident is under investigation by the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. Why he was inside the building at that time is unknown. He has not been identified by the Sheriff’s Department.
A firefighter was injured after going into the building to try to assist with the rescue and suffering smoke inhalation, fire officials said. He was transported to a local hospital, where he remains Thursday morning.
“He’s awake and talking with his family,” LAFD Capt. Chiyoshi Hasegawa said. “Obviously, you can imagine the emotional turmoil on him. Although we’re co-workers, we’re one big family and there’s a lot of emotions if one of our family members was to be hurt or injured.”
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