4 Calif. Firefighters Injured After Roof Collapse

May 22--Four Los Angeles County firefighters were injured when they fell through the roof of a vacant casino during a two-alarm fire in Cudahy, officials said Friday.

The fire was reported at the Club Caribe Casino in the 7600 block of Atlantic Avenue about 11:30 p.m. Thursday, where crews arrived and found plumes of black smoke and flames shooting through the 3,000-square-foot building.

Four firefighters were on the roof, cutting holes for ventilation, when it caved in about midnight, said supervising fire dispatcher Ed Pickett.

Three firefighters suffered cuts and bruises but were otherwise fine. They were treated at the scene and released. A fourth firefighter suffered unspecified burns and was taken to a hospital, Pickett said.

Crews extinguished the blaze about 2 a.m.; its cause was under investigation.

In March, a Fresno firefighter was critically injured when he fell during a house fire as the roof collapsed beneath him, dropping him into a pit of flames. Video showed flames and smoke immediately shooting up from the hole where he had been standing.

The firefighter suffered burns to about 75% of his body but survived.

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