![]() People are rattling through the trash cans.” Photo by Sandra Clark We hear noises all the time, yelling and screaming. “Many of the homeless live out of our garbage cans. This has been a ticking time bomb,” said Devon Daley who lives just a few houses away from the charred homes. “For me, this has been waiting to happen. Many blame City Councilman Mike Bonin for his hands-off approach to dealing with the ongoing homeless crisis in Venice Beach and the surrounding areas. We are now living every other neighbor’s nightmare because this could easily happen to anyone.” You can skateboard, and break into houses. If you’re homeless, you can come here and camp on the street, and there’s no recourse.” When asked how she felt about losing her home of 24 years, the former clinical psychologist replied, “I thought, I get to move because this place sucks. The house has since been red tagged and is no longer inhabitable. I know it was thirty minutes, and it was more than that when the water started flowing.” My house will be saved and that wasn’t even close. “I got out of the house and I thought, Oh God, they are going to be here. “The fire jumped over to our house,” Irma recalled. For a while, the couple worried about their missing cat Emily, who showed up later that morning. Fortunately, no one was injured and the couple got their Standard Poodle named Bodhi before leaving the premises. Irma Hawkins, 71, and her husband Martin Kasindorf, 82, watched in horror as their home for over twenty years went up in flames. They say their hands are tied.” Photo by Sandra Clark “We don’t call the cops anymore because they don’t come. “It’s an empty house, there are no utilities, the fire started and someone ran out,” said Ron Orr. I see people smoking crack, and it’s been like this for a long time,” added Searle.Īnother neighbor told the Current that there’s no doubt in his mind as to how this blaze got started. “The alley is constantly littered with crack pipes. He brought his whole bike in (the construction sight) and was covered in plastic bags. “This person was there for a very long time and made a great deal of noise. Searle said he saw people coming and going the previous night, including a tall, man who showed up late Saturday night with a bike. It seemed like a pretty contained fire, but by the time the fire department came, it looked like an inferno.” “I think I was one of the first people to see the fire and what I saw looked like a campfire on a piece of plywood on the concrete. There is a toilet and privacy in there,” Searle told the Current. “I heard a noise, but I always hear noise in that place because people come and go all the time. Glen Searle witnessed the horrific chain of events first hand after being alerted to the fire when he heard loud noises causing his dog to get up and run to the window. The sprawling structure housed an unlocked porta-potty that many people used, said one longtime Venice Beach resident whose house is located directly across the alley from the sight. ![]() The fire damaged five homes, including the three story home under construction. It took over 100 firefighters to put out the blaze. Members of a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s SWAT team were seen being dropped into the scene of the fire via helicopter, according to aerials provided by CNN affiliate KABC-TV.VENICE -Outraged neighbors say a three-story home under construction where a fire began late Sunday night in the Venice Canals had become a fixture for transients since building at the location started nearly one and a half years ago. The home was on fire when authorities arrived, Dean said. ![]() The shooter and two victims all worked different shifts, Osby said.īased on witness testimony, Dean said investigators received a name and vehicle description of the suspect, which led them to a residence about 10 miles away in Acton. The suspected gunman was not scheduled to work Tuesday, Osby said. ![]() “I never thought that if it occurred it would occur in this fashion.” “As a fire chief, I’ve dealt with a lot of death and lot of fallen members of our department and I always prayed we would never have a line-of-duty death,” Osby said through tears. The man was a firefighter specialist and engineer who’s been with the department for more than 20 years, Osby said.Īn LAFD captain, 54, was found with gunshot wounds and taken to a local hospital where he remains in critical, but stable condition, Osby said. Upon arrival, first responders found a 44-year-old man with gunshot wounds to his torso who was pronounced dead at the scene, said Brandon Dean with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department homicide bureau. ![]()
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