A fast-moving fire tore through a small residential care home for seniors in the Glendale foothills near Brand Park, sending eight people to the hospital with minor injuries and prompting two neighbors to run inside and help pull residents to safety as firefighters arrived.
The blaze broke out at Mountain Villa, a six-bedroom facility at 1845 W. Mountain Street, according to CBS Los Angeles. Video from the scene showed heavy smoke and fire near Brand Park, as first reported by NBC Los Angeles, which described a nursing home facility fire that broke out Friday afternoon. The Glendale Fire Department initially reported that multiple residents were inside the facility as crews responded, per that outlet's reporting.
Eight people in total were rescued by firefighters and taken to hospitals with minor injuries, a count that includes six residents, one staff member, and a neighbor who ran inside to help, the station's report notes. Among those neighbors were Narek and Alex Bazinyan, who rushed into the burning structure to help evacuate residents as firefighters arrived, after a nurse from the facility ran outside calling for help, according to the same account.
Fire Chief Points to Arson Investigators, Building Now Red-Tagged
Glendale Fire Chief Jeff Brooks said arson investigators are working to determine what sparked the blaze, which crews have since fully suppressed, per the CBS Los Angeles report. Officials said the building will be red-tagged as uninhabitable. How the fire started remained undetermined as of the initial report from NBC Los Angeles.
Mountain Villa is licensed by the California Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division under Facility Number 197609508 as a Residential Care Facility for the Elderly, with a maximum capacity of six residents, according to state licensing records. That small footprint places the home under a specific regulatory category: California Building Code and State Fire Marshal rules classify residential care homes with six or fewer residents under Group R-3.1 requirements, which mandate automatic fire sprinklers, smoke detectors in key areas, and clear exit pathways for non-ambulatory residents, per InsureMyRCFE.
Facility Had Passed Inspection Just Months Earlier
State inspectors visited Mountain Villa in March and confirmed the facility had functioning smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, and up-to-date fire drill records, the CBS Los Angeles report states — meaning the home had passed its safety compliance checks roughly six months before Friday's fire.
The response drew on a fire department built for rapid citywide coverage. Glendale Fire Department operates nine stations across 30.6 square miles, according to the City of Glendale. Calls like Friday's are funneled through the Verdugo Fire Communications Center, Glendale's regional dispatch hub, per the city.
Not the First Scrutiny of Glendale Senior Facilities
Friday's fire is not the first time a Glendale senior care setting has drawn official attention. In October 2024, Glendale police arrested a man for identity theft and elder financial abuse after credit card thefts were reported from elderly patients at a different local nursing facility, a case that put a spotlight on the vulnerability of residents in these small, close-quarters homes. Open questions remain in the current case, including the cause of the fire and how displaced residents will be relocated now that the building has been red-tagged.
