LOS ANGELES _ Firefighters on Wednesday are battling a large blaze that has enveloped the sixth floor of Barrington Plaza, a 25-story Westside residential building, forcing residents to jump from the structure, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The fire was reported shortly after 8:30 a.m. at the building in the Sawtelle neighborhood.
It is not clear how many people have jumped from the building, according to the Fire Department. Initial reports indicated that 10 units were on fire, and firefighters were working amid strong winds in the area.
Television video showed residents, some in bathrobes, on the roof of the building with a fire helicopter overhead lifting them to safety. Officials didn't say whether anyone had been injured.
Video shows heavy flames inside the building and thick black smoke pouring from at least one balcony and several windows.
A fire that erupted on the 11th floor of the same apartment building in 2013 displaced up to 150 residents and injured two people.
At the time, L.A. fire officials said the Barrington Plaza building was not equipped with a sprinkler system. Because it was built 52 years ago, it does not fall under state regulations later adopted that forced buildings taller than 75 feet to include such fire-suppression systems unless granted an exemption.
It's unclear whether the complex now has sprinklers.
The Los Angeles Times reported in 2014 that 71 of the city's roughly 200 residential high-rises don't have sprinkler systems installed. There was a push after the 2013 fire to get more of those buildings retrofitted with sprinklers.