Blaze Put Out at Red-Tagged Complex

Flames raged through a red-tagged Granada Hills apartment building Sunday, destroying a large section of the already crippled, three-story structure, firefighters said.

Firefighters responded to the blaze in the 16800 block of Kingsbury Street shortly after midnight and contained it in just under an hour. But it took 90 firefighters about 5 1/2 hours to fully extinguish the fire, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

“They had to proceed cautiously in order to get in and around the building due to earthquake damage,” said spokesman Brian Humphrey.

The building was boarded up and was supposed to be vacant, Humphrey said, but neighbors told firefighters they had seen transients in the area. The department is calling the fire suspicious.

One firefighter hurt his foot while putting out the blaze but was in good condition after treatment at a local hospital, Humphrey said.