Fire forces evacuation of L.B. apartment building

In what was the second fire at a West Broadway apartment building within a week, Long Beach firefighters battled a blaze late Monday night that forced the evacuation of dozens of tenants who, at least for now, cannot return home until city officials deem that the 42-unit complex is safe.

The Long Beach Fire Department responded to the emergency call at around 11 p.m. on June 27, the third call in a week at 315 W. Broadway, a three-story apartment building constructed in 1927, Fire Chief Richard Corbett said.

Firefighters, maneuvering through heavy smoke conditions as tenants were evacuated, discovered the fire in the walls of a second floor apartment on the west side of the building, Corbett said.

“There were decent smoke conditions, and at this time of night everyone is home and we’re trying to evacuate people,” he said. “It was a labor intensive fire — these old plaster walls had to be opened up because they hide the fire. It was all in the walls — you could see the paint bubbling.”

The fire led to the evacuation of roughly 60 residents who occupy the building. Corbett said that no injuries were reported, and the city provided two air-conditioned buses for tenants to use until temporary shelter was provided.

Corbett said roughly 75 firefighters responded to the incident, and that the fire was extinguished in approximately 35 minutes, though firefighters and officials were on the scene for hours afterward. According to Corbett, the Nassau County Fire Marshal said that the fire is not suspicious, and that officials believe it was the result of electrical problems stemming, in part, from the age of the building.

The latest incident comes on the heels of a previous electrical fire on June 21, also found in the walls of a second-floor apartment, on the east side of the building. No injuries were reported in that incident, and tenants were eventually allowed to return home.

Just hours before Monday night’s incident, however, firefighters responded to the building that afternoon for another electrical problem.