100 Are Evacuated in Apartment Blaze

More than 100 people were evacuated during a fire at a Sherman Oaks apartment building Thursday night in which one woman was critically injured, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman said.

The woman, whose name was not immediately released, suffered burns and smoke inhalation, said Jim Wells, a spokesman for the department. She was listed in critical condition at Sherman Oaks Community Hospital.

The fire started at 9:27 p.m. on the top floor of the 3-story building on Dickens Street, near Stansbury Avenue, Wells said. About 60 firefighters from 14 engine companies doused the flames 20 minutes later.

The fire was confined to one or two rooms, but smoke heavily damaged the third floor, Wells said. Five residents were displaced by the damage, he said.