Blaze Damages Apartment

A transient who left a smoldering cigarette in an earthquake-damaged apartment building in Chatsworth was blamed for causing a fire Sunday that resulted in $3,000 in damage to a second-story unit, authorities said.

The blaze broke out in an abandoned building in the 10000 block of De Soto Avenue around 11:30 a.m., said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The building was damaged in the Jan. 17 earthquake and was fenced and boarded to discourage trespassing, Humphrey said.

It took 20 firefighters about 25 minutes to extinguish the blaze, he said.

Since the earthquake, dozens of damaged apartment buildings in the San Fernando Valley have become havens for transients, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Fire investigators found evidence indicating that someone had been living in the unit prior to the blaze, Humphrey said.