A man and his two dogs are OK after what is believed to be an accidental fire left two units of an apartment building damaged in Monterey Park Thursday night.
The fire was reported about 11:15 p.m. in the 1400 block of College View Drive, Monterey Park Fire Department Battalion Chief Pullius said.
Arriving firefighters found a man locked inside a burning apartment and broke down the front door in order to rescue him.
Pullius said the crews had to deal with “packrat conditions,” with items stacked 4 to 5 feet high, in order to battle the fire.
It took firefighters about an hour to extinguish the blaze, which did spread to the unit above.
Video from the scene showed firefighters rescuing two dogs from the burning apartment building.
The man and the dogs all appeared to be uninjured in the incident.
Investigators said the fire was accidentally started by a candle that was left burning near a couch.
Both units are believed to be salvageable but sustained tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of damage, Pullius said.
KTLA’s Alexis Lewis contributed to this report.