Officer Hailed for Fire Rescues

A Los Angeles police officer was called a hero Tuesday for rushing into a burning apartment house in Lincoln Heights and carrying out several youngsters who were trapped in the fire Monday afternoon.

Thirty people were left homeless by the blaze that swept through a two-story building at 2432 N. Eastlake Ave. that was undergoing renovation.

Officer Bruce Spiadling of the Police Department’s Hollenbeck Division was among the first at the scene about 1:20 p.m. According to firefighters, he entered the building and carried several trapped children to safety. He also handed several other children through a window to police officers outside the burning building. He escaped the flames without sustaining an injury.

The officer’s heroics “saved the day,” city Fire Inspector Ed Reed said.

Investigators said the fire was apparently started by youngsters who were playing with matches. The building’s residents, who all lived in six units upstairs while the renovation work took place on the ground floor, lost practically all their belongings.

“My mother called me at work and said the building burned down,” said resident Roger Cobian, 20. “We pretty much lost everything.” Damage was estimated at $120,000.

The Red Cross arranged for emergency housing in a motel for the displaced residents.

On Monday night, another 28 people were left homeless by a blaze that swept through a two-story apartment building at 364 N. Avenue 53 in Highland Park. It took 50 firefighters an hour to control the flames.

Three firefighters, including Battalion Chief Donald L. Cate, suffered minor injuries when they fell into a trench in front of the structure. The trench contained broken glass, which cut through their boots and clothing.

It took eight stitches to close a cut on Cate’s knee, Reed said. The two other firefighters, who were not unidentified, also required some stitches.

A fourth person, a resident of the burned-out structure, was treated at County-USC Medical Center for smoke inhalation.

Arson investigators were probing the cause of the fire. Damage was put at $185,000.