Four people were injured, including three firefighters, in a three-alarm blaze at a a residential condo complex near Alamitos Heights Wednesday night.

The fire, which started on the 400 block of Bellflower Boulevard near Pacific Coast Highway at about 5 p.m., was knocked down just before 6 p.m., according to LBFD spokesman Brian Fisk.

The fire started on the third floor and then moved to the fourth floor, according to Fisk.

Firefighters rescued one person and a dog from a balcony, Fisk said. A woman in her 70s suffered a leg injury after jumping from a second floor balcony to the ground, and was transported to an area hospital in stable condition, Fisk said.

Three firefighters were also transported with injuries to local hospitals, with heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation, Fisk added.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

 

Marlys James-Jolly, who lived in the complex for two and a half years and was near where the fire started, said fire alarms were being installed on her floor Wednesday and no alarms went off to warn residents. James-Jolly said two neighbors came around to warn other resident of the fire.

“We opened the door and the smoke was so thick it was frightening,” James-Jolly said.

Long Beach firefighter Marcel Willis carries a cat out of an apartment building that caught fire Tuesday, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. Photo by Brandon Richardson.

Another resident of the complex, who declined to give her name, said she first knew of the fire when she smelled smoke.

“I smelled smoke and saw stuff tumbling down outside the window, grabbed the kids and ran,” the resident said. “I came back and asked them to grab my cat and the cat was OK,” she added.

Building manager Briana Anderson declined to comment.

Video shot by a bystander showed smoke coming from multiple locations in the complex.

One firefighter on the ground pass equipment to another on the balcony of an apartment building that caught fire Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. Photo by Brandon Richardson.
A Long Beach firefighter walks out of an apartment building that caught fire on the 400 block of Bellflower Boulevard Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. Photo by Brandon Richardson.
Long Beach firefighters navigate an apartment fire that caught fire Tuesday, Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021. Photo by Brandon Richardson.

This story has been updated with additional details from the LBFD and eyewitnesses.

Brandon Richardson is a reporter and photojournalist for the Long Beach Post and Long Beach Business Journal.