The fire broke out at about 12:30 a.m. Flames could be seen shooting out of the building when firefighters arrived in the 3900-block of Triumvera.
The building had to be evacuated. Firefighters rescued two people who were trapped in a ninth-floor unit with heavy fire. The mother and her 14-year-old son were escorted from their balcony down a 100-foot ladder.
"It was kind of like a rock climbing but backwards. It was the most I was ever scared. I was shaking more than I ever have before," the son, Sung-won Choi, said.
All other residents managed to get out on their own.
Several minor injuries were reported, but no one needed to be taken to a hospital.
In 2008, an 86-year-old man died in fire in the same building. Investigators determined the fire was caused by an unattended candle. The man who died lived in the unit next to the apartment where the fire broke out Wednesday. He died of smoke inhalation.
There was no immediate word on what caused the fire.
