NORTHRIDGE (CNS) - Five people were injured, including three seriously, in a Fourth of July fire that spread through a pair of apartments in Northridge, authorities said.
About 50 residents were displaced by the fire in the two 16-unit buildings, located next to each other, at Wilbur Avenue and Parthenia Street.
Firefighters dispatched to the scene at 9:20 p.m. Saturday had the blaze out at 10:03 p.m., the Los Angeles Fire Department reported.
The fire consumed several large palm trees and the west side of one building, according to Nicholas Prange of the LAFD.
"Embers landed on the roof of the second building (to the east) and started a surface fire on the roof of the second building,'' he said, adding it took 81 firefighters to extinguish the fire in the trees, eight west-side apartment units, and on top of the second building.
The entire second building and the east side of the first building were protected, he said.
Three people were hospitalized in serious condition with smoke inhalation, while two suffered minor injuries and declined transportation to a hospital, Prange said.The cause of the blaze was under investigation.