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K-9s Flag Possible Human Remains in North Hills Fire Rubble as LAFD Expands Investigation

Investigators are using heavy machinery to reach a spot the dogs indicated within the collapsed structure.

Overview

  • Two human remains detection K-9s alerted to the same area inside the burned North Hills building, but no body has been found and the scent could be blood or bone fragments.
  • More than 100 firefighters contained the blaze at the boarded-up two-story commercial building in under two hours after a roof collapse Tuesday evening.
  • Firefighters evacuated a neighboring four-story apartment building; officials report 27 people were displaced and three units were yellow-tagged, though some on-scene accounts later cited as many as 41 units.
  • Paramedics evaluated multiple people and two women were hospitalized in fair condition for possible smoke inhalation.
  • LAFD’s Arson and Counter-Terrorism Section is investigating the cause; Parthenia Street is closed between Columbus and Burnet during a multi-day debris removal, and neighbors said the former church was frequented by unhoused people.