West L.A. high-rise fire leaves 125 displaced; others get to go home

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Movers transport furniture from the Barrington Plaza Apartments. Some residents have been moving out of the apartments after a fire in the high-rise on Oct. 18. Many occupants have realized that the building is not equipped with a sprinkler system. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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A workers cleans the face of the Barrington Plaza Apartments after a fire. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Resident Lindsay Bustillos, left, packs her apartment as her sonKai Worawan, is watched by his grandmother Diane Bustillos at the Barrington Plaza Apartments in West Los Angeles. Lindsay found out during a fire at the apartments on Oct. 18 that the building is not equipped with a sprinkler system. So Bustillos, her husband and son are packing up and headed to Thousand Oaks. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Resident Lindsay Bustillos spends some time with her son, Kai Worawan, on the balcony of their apartment, a few floors down from where a fire broke out at the Barrington Plaza Apartments in West Los Angeles. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Lindsay Bustillos, holding her son Kai, and her mother Diane Bustillos watch as firefighters contain the blaze at the Barrington Plaza, where Lindsay and her son live. “I smelled the smoke and immediately grabbed the baby and diaper bag,” said Lindsay about her escape from the burning building. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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A man is taken to an ambulance after being brought out of Barrington Plaza during the fire. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

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A Barrington Plaza resident is brought out on a wheelchair. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Tenant Gizem Yontar, left, hugs her friend Ninoofar Ghassemi as firefighters work to contain the fire. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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A man is treated after being brought out of the burning Barrington Plaza. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

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Firefighters scrutinize damage to the building. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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Firefighters look out from a charred balcony after putting out the fire, which is under investigation. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

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A man is taken to an ambulance after being brought out of Barrington Plaza. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times)

By Larry Gordon

Oct. 18, 2013 9:31 PM PT

About 125 residents remained displaced Friday night after a fire in a West L.A. high-rise apartment building, officials said.

The displaced lived in 51 units on the five floors most affected by the blaze, while other residents of the 25-story structure on Wilshire Boulevard were allowed to return home.

A Red Cross evacuation center was set up at nearby University High School.

The displaced lived on the 11th floor, where the fire started, and on the four floors below, which had water damage, said Capt. Jaime Moore, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The midday fire left eight people injured, including a young child reported to be in critical condition after being found not breathing in a smoke-filled stairway, Moore said. Three of the eight were firefighters who were treated for minor burns and released, he said.

A dog also died in the fire, but no other details were available, Moore said.

Fire investigators are looking into the cause of the blaze, which erupted about 11:45 a.m. in the apartment building in the 11700 block of Wilshire.

The young girl found not breathing was taken to a hospital, as were three others who suffered respiratory distress and one who had chest pains.

L.A. fire officials said the Barrington Plaza building is not equipped with a sprinkler system. Because it was built 52 years ago, it does not fall under state regulations adopted in 1974 that require buildings taller than 75 feet to include such fire-suppression systems.

The building, part of a larger complex, has 240 units, Moore said. Earlier, the Fire Department reported that there were twice as many units.

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larry.gordon@latimes.com

Twitter: @larrygordonlat