LOS ANGELES (AP) – Police have arrested several people for a 1993 apartment building fire that killed 10 people, including seven children, it was announced Saturday.
Those arrested remained jailed, Officer Aareon Jefferson said. He had no other details. Police planned to hold a news conference on Monday.
The three-story building in the Westlake district caught fire on May 3, 1993. At the time, police said they believed the blaze was set by gang members kicked off the property for selling drugs.
The building, packed with mainly poor immigrants from Central America, had inoperable smoke alarms. Investigators found fire doors had been propped or nailed open for ventilation, allowing smoke to surge through the apartments.
Tenants tried to escape by jumping from windows, scrambling down fire escapes and climbing down bedsheets tied to balconies. At one point, neighbors formed a human chain to pass along children from upper floors.