LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne’s daughter, Aimee, was among those fleeing a Hollywood studio fire that killed Sharon Osbourne, a 26-year-old music producer, and others who work in the field.
Producers at Aimee Osbourne also escaped a blaze that began late Thursday afternoon inside a two-storey commercial building that houses multiple studios and music production spaces. It took 78 firefighters more than 50 minutes to put out the blaze, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Eric Scott said in a statement.
Scott said two people reported respiratory symptoms related to smoke exposure and were evaluated at the scene, but both refused to be taken to hospital.
“Sadly, when firefighters searched the building, one person was found dead inside,” Scott said, adding that no firefighters were injured and the cause of the fire was under investigation.
Authorities have not released the identity of the victim, but friends including musician and record label owner Jamal Rajad Davis and others who worked at the building identified him as Nathan Avery, 26. Edwards, who records, produces and mixes music under the name Avery Drift.
One of the survivors was Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne’s eldest daughter, Sharon Osbourne said in an Instagram post.
Aimee Osbourne, 38, and a producer she worked with were “the two lucky ones who survived,” Sharon Osbourne said, without specifying the system. filmmaker.
“Our prayers are with the families and friends of those who lost their lives in this senseless fire,” Osborne said.
Aimee Osbourne is a singer who releases electro-pop music under her initials ARO. She didn’t appear on the Osborn family reality show like her younger brothers Kelly and Jack Osborn.
Davis, whose stage name is Jamal Rajad, lives and works in the building’s space with his wife and four cats. When he started seeing and smelling smoke, he thought his wife was burning incense.
He said he and others appeared in the hallway and it was clear smoke and severe heat were coming out of a unit a few doors down. The people in that space locked themselves out and started trying to break the door, with Davis and the others yelling for him to stop.
He opened it, and it was, “Bang! Big old fire!” Davis said in an interview with The Associated Press.
That’s when Davis started yelling at Osborn and the others to run back to his space.
“I grabbed all the big stuff, my 65-inch TV, the PlayStation interface in my studio, my internet box, anything I saw that I thought was important,” he said. He left things out and tried to run back to grab his cat, but it was too late.
“I’m suffocating,” he said. “So I took off my shirt, tied it to my face, and tried to walk a little further. I walked about five or six steps, but I couldn’t get to my kitten.”
Jonathan Wellman rented downstairs recording space from Edwards, he told los angeles times He is “a brilliant young artist, producer, engineer”.
Davis said several people were able to follow his voice to the safety exit.
“I’m grateful for that,” he said, but grateful for Avery’s death. He was on the ground floor with us. I didn’t realize it. I only had seconds. I couldn’t even save my cat.”
Davis, Wellman and others said they didn’t hear the smoke detectors or see the sprinklers go off.
It was not immediately clear if there were any violations or references to the building.