Updated at 4:20 p.m.
Fire department investigators are looking into the cause of a fire that tore through a Boyle Heights home in the early hours of Tuesday.
Firefighters received a call at 2:55 a.m. about a structure fire at 2433 East Folsom Street. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, it took 41 firefighters 21 minutes to put out the blaze.
“On arrival firefighters found a two story, single family dwelling well involved in fire,” the LAFD said in a released statement. “Crews worked to quickly extinguish the fire and conduct an interior search, which found the building clear of occupants.”
It was unclear from reports if home was unoccupied or if residents were able to escape the burning home.
According to a neighbor who spoke with Telemundo 52, the house had been abandoned and often occupied by homeless people, who had previously set fires in the building.
“The homeless living next door have set the house on fires on various occasions”, said Elizabeth López, who told the TV outlet she lived next door to the house that burned down.
“I told the police many time what was going on, but unfortunately they never wanted to do anything, because it was not my property. [They told me] that the owner had to call them.”
LAPD Captain Rick Stabile, commanding officer of the Hollenbeck station, posted a photo of the burned house on Twitter, saying that two Hollenbeck officers patrolling the area, Carbajal and Serrano, alerted the fire department of the fire and helped evacuate some of the area residents.
Local station KTLA 5 reported live from the scene in its early Tuesday newscast, and showed video of firefighters putting out the blaze. According to the news outlet, “dozens of families” were forced to flee their homes threatened by the fire. About 30 evacuees, a reporter said, were taken to a shelter at nearby Sheridan Street Elementary School.
No injuries were reported. Extent of damages, LAFD said, was to be determined.
This post was edited to add neighbor’s comments and add details of fire destruction.
