School Takes In 200 After Fire Hits Apartment House

More than 200 people were moved to a temporary shelter in the Hollywood High School gymnasium after a Sunday morning blaze forced the evacuation of a four-story apartment complex, authorities said.

Twenty-three companies of firefighters were called shortly before 1 a.m. to the Canterbury Apartments at 1746 N. Cherokee Ave., where flames had already engulfed about half the roof of the 90-unit concrete structure, Los Angeles City Fire Department spokesman Jim Williamson said. An estimated 350 to 400 residents were evacuated before the fire was extinguished at 2 a.m., he said.

Moved by RTD Buses

Many of the tenants were moved by RTD buses to the gym, where American Red Cross workers provided cots, blankets and breakfast. The shelter is expected to remain open for at least three more nights, Red Cross spokesman Ralph Wright said.

“It’s terrible,” said James Green, 45, who arrived at the shelter Sunday morning with his wife, Sharon, and their son, James Jr. “Your home is your castle, but you realize how quickly you can lose it.”

“I didn’t take anything, just got the kids and the wife out of there,” said George Diaz, 39. “I didn’t smell any smoke, but I wasn’t going to wait around for it.”

The blaze, which apparently started in the attic, caused an estimated $75,000 damage to the structure and $325,000 damage to the contents, fire officials said. No cause has been determined.

2 Firefighters Injured

Firefighters Eugene Tanner and Tony Marino, who fell down an elevator shaft, complained of back pain. They were treated at a nearby hospital and released.

No residents were injured, officials said.

The 82-year-old building, one of the first large apartment complexes in Hollywood, was closed in 1979 by the city Department of Building and Safety after numerous arson fires and years of disrepair had turned it into a dilapidated slum. It reopened after a major face lift in 1980.

Many of the families who live there will probably be able to begin returning during the next several days, Wright said. Those who live on the fourth floor where the fire broke out, he said, “really have nothing left.”