29 firefighters put out blaze
By Sam Catanzaro
On Wednesday night a fire broke out at Mar Vista Gardens public housing project in Del Rey.
According to the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), the two-story complex located at 11965 Allin Street broke out in flames around 10:26 p.m. on Wednesday, July 24.
“29 firefighters engaged in an offensive interior attack with coordinated vertical ventilation, extinguishing the flames in 18 minutes,” said Nicholas Prange of the LAFD in an incident report.
According to Prange, one patient was evaluated on the scene by paramedics. No other injuries were reported. The cause and damage of the fire are currently unknown.
Westside Today has reached out to the LAFD requesting more information about the extent of the damage. Check back for more details.
According to the L.A. Conservancy Mar Vista Gardens, completed in 1954, is one of a handful of publicly owned garden apartments built in Los Angeles in the wake of the Federal Housing Act of 1949.
Designed by architect Albert Criz, who would later work on the WestLA Civic Center, the 43-acre property includes 601 apartment units, 62 buildings, along with a gymnasium, community center and athletic fields. The two-story buildings are separated by open yards, allowing for small tenant gardens.
Mar Vista Gardens is the westernmost site operated by the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA). Plans to construct the complex stalled in the early 1950s when City officials discovered that a strip of land running through the project site was actually County territory.
