Fire and Smoke Force 285 to Flee Medical Building

Smoke from a fire in a janitor’s closet spread through the hallways of a medical building in Hawaiian Gardens on Wednesday, forcing the evacuation of 285 doctors, nurses and patients.

No injuries were reported.

Los Angeles County Fire Department officials said the blaze at the Family Health Plan, a health maintenance organization at 21520 Pioneer Blvd., was started by a cigarette discarded in a trash bin. Fire officials said smoke, flame and water damage from the blaze, which was confined to the closet, caused an estimated $40,000 in losses.

Almost all those evacuated were employees or patients of the HMO. Workers and patients were sent home after the evacuation, but the clinic will be open for appointments today, administrators said.

At least 12 units and 50 firefighters were summoned to the scene of the fire, which was reported at 1:48 p.m. The blaze was not controlled until 2:32 p.m., said Fire Department spokesman John Lenihan, because the building was filled with smoke and firefighters had to trace its origin to the closet. The north wing of the building, where the fire started, is two stories.

Fire alarms throughout the building warned most occupants to flee even before they smelled smoke, workers said. In one corner of the north wing, however, Maria Puente of Hawaiian Gardens said alarms could not be heard in the private doctor’s office where she works.

Puente said she has a cold and did not smell smoke. A friend visiting her, James Porras of Lakewood, did notice the smell and opened the office door to investigate. When they saw the smoke-filled hallway, the two fled into the parking lot as emergency vehicles were arriving.

Three private doctors and neighboring Charter Community Hospital lease offices in the nearly vacant north wing of the building, said fire officials and HMO workers.

The building is owned by Cerritos Gardens General Hospital, a medical corporation controlled by Dr. Irving Moskowitz, the physician and real estate developer who also owns the Nutowne Bingo Parlor in Hawaiian Gardens.