Structure Fire in Koreatown Critically Injures One

Firefighters pulled a man out of a burning stairwell and rushed him to the hospital at a structure fire in Koreatown this morning.

At 8:39AM on November 15, 2024 the Los Angeles City Fire Department responded to a reported structure fire in the 400 block of S Gramercy Place in Koreatown.

Firefighters arrived to find a two-story building, initially believed to be a four-plex, with moderate smoke showing from the first floor. As crews initiated an offensive fire attack, they spotted an adult male attempting to escape through a second-story window. With smoke visible behind him, firefighters swiftly deployed a ladder, assisting him to safety without injury.

Crews on fire attack located the seat of the fire in a below ground utility room (not a full basement) and found an adult male patient collapsed on the stairwell. They quickly pulled him out and firefighter/paramedics immediately provided advanced life-saving measures to the critically injured patient and rapidly transported him to the hospital for further care.

Over 70 firefighters, working under the command of Battalion Chief Kenneth Cook, extinguished the fire in 30 minutes with no injuries reported to LAFD personnel. The fire was primarily contained to the utility room with smoke damage on the 1st and 2nd floors. Despite the appearance from the exterior, the building was in fact a two-story single family home converted into 20 units. Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety "yellow-tagged" the structure. There are 20 families (unknown number of individuals) displaced at this time. The American Red Cross is assisting with their immediate needs.

While multiple lithium-ion bicycle batteries were found to be charging in the room at the time of the fire, LAFD Arson and Counter-Terrorism Section (ACTS) investigated and the cause was classified 'undetermined but not suspicious in nature,

One smoke alarm was heard sounding at the time of LAFD arrival but the status of alarms throughout the structure is not known at this time.

There was a total of four patients, one transported in critical condition and the remaining three were assessed on scene for smoke inhalation and all declined LAFD transport.