One person is dead and several others injured after a fire in the 5500 block of Dairy Avenue on New Year’s Day.
At approximately 7:22pm on Jan. 1, Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) units responded to reports of a structure fire in that block. Fire units arrived on scene three minutes later, according to LBFD. The initial arriving units reported heavy smoke and fire coming from an apartment on the first floor of a two-story, garden-style apartment complex with six units.
“Firefighters initiated an aggressive fire attack and performed primary search operations,” said Jacob Heflin, LBFD public information officer. “Unfortunately, during this search, a body was discovered. The male patient was assessed by paramedics where the individual was determined deceased. The age of the patient is unknown. The majority of the fire was confined to one unit. However, the unit directly above the fire sustained significant smoke damage, displacing a family of five.”
Extermination of the fire and primary search were complete by 7:40pm, according to Heflin. The secondary search was completed by 7:41pm.
A total of seven patients were evaluated during the course of the fire. The first patient was the deceased male. The second patient was a 28-year-old male who, prior to the arrival of fire department resources, had jumped from the second-story balcony to escape the fire. He sustained extremity injuries that required further treatment and transport to the hospital. The third patient was a 26-year-old female who lived in the unit above the fire. She and her three children— ages 9, 7 and 4— were evaluated and not in need of any additional assistance, according to the LBFD. The 28-year-old male and 26-year-old female with three children are all part of the family of five that were displaced by the fire.
The seventh patient was a 24-year-old female who complained of glass in her leg. She was evaluated and treated on scene by paramedics. She did not seek further medical care and was released.
At the height of the fire, there were 30 firefighters assigned to the incident, the LBFD said. The cause of the fire is unknown and remains under investigation.
According to the original LBFD press release, fire investigators and Long Beach police detectives were working together to identify the victim and make the appropriate family notifications.
Source: LBFD
