Fires Damage Vacant Apartment Building

A fire of suspicious origin damaged a vacant Woodland Hills apartment complex Thursday just 10 hours after firefighters put out a smaller blaze in the same building, the Los Angeles City Fire Department reported.

The fire gutted two second-floor apartment units and damaged the attic and roof, Battalion Chief Don Mello said. The amount of the financial loss caused by the fires was not set because the building was to be demolished in the next few days, he said.

The blaze at Mulholland Drive and Avenue San Luis broke out about 1:15 p.m. and was contained 25 minutes later. The afternoon fire, as well as one that started about 3 a.m. in a first-floor apartment, were being investigated by arson inspectors, Mello said. The apartment was one of about 25 being razed to make way for condominiums in the neighborhood.