5 dead in fire in abandoned building in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (AP) – One person is dead and three others had to be rescued from a major fire in an abandoned two-story office building Monday night near downtown Los Angeles, officials said.

The 145 firefighters are still working to knock down the blaze.

The building was officially vacant, but neighbors say they saw homeless people coming and going from there. The fire was later declared a major emergency, according to Humphrey.

Fire officials initially said after the blaze they had found one body, but by Tuesday afternoon the death total was revised to five.

It quickly put responding firefighters in a defensive stance, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Peter Sanders said in a statement.

Five civilians, all described as unauthorized occupants, were injured, Humphrey said.

No information was immediately released about the person who died.

That man and one other person were taken to hospitals with injuries not considered serious.

No firefighters were injured in Monday’s incident.

“People do tend to live in them, and they tear them up”, fire Capt. Daniel Curry said. Investigators are looking into what caused the blaze.