Another fire marks latest in troubling incidents surrounding squatters in abandoned Beverly Grove apartments
Cell phone video shows the moments that a large fire burns behind the buildings, located at First Street and S. Flores Flores Street, in the middle of the night on Tuesday.
"I was just trying to sleep and I saw some orange in my window," said Leo Petronzio. "It was fire, and we were all rushing outside."
Multiple neighbors rushed from their homes, grabbing fire extinguishers to try and put out the flames burning near the three vacant buildings.
It's been more than a week since CBS News Los Angeles first spoke with residents living nearby, who say this is just another in a long trend of concerning issues created by the nearly 20 squatters who took over.
In the time since, the property owner has put up "No Trespassing" signs, and some city officials have taken notice, but neighbors say there aren't any less people residing inside. They're using a hole in the chainlink fence to get back in, undeterred by the new signage.
There was also news that the property may be demolished, as the property owner claimed that construction would be completed on what is supposed to be a 50-unit complex.
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, says that the signs are aligned with city code.
"For there to be an arrest one of two things has to happen," Rahmani said. "The property owner needs to ask for it to happen, say that this individual is trespassing, or they have to fill out a form ... that allows LAPD to arrest someone, even if the property owner isn't there."
Neighbors say that waiting for something like that to happen, despite their litany of pleas to the owner and city, could just lead to more danger.
"My life is on hold right now. My daughter is traumatized, I am sending her to sleep at her friends house, not pleasant at all," said Anita Cavallo.
CBS News Los Angeles reached out to City Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky about the matter. A spokesperson for her office shared a statement, that read:
"The ongoing conditions at this property are outrageous and unacceptable. The Council Office has continued to apply pressure to ensure the owner addresses the safety and nuisance issues without delay, including requesting the repair of fencing around the properties and hiring private security."
The property owner has not responded to request for comment on the latest incident.
Los Angeles Fire Department says that an arson investigator is looking into the cause of the fire.
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