Viral Video Shows Moment Apartment Catches Fire From Rogue Firework

A viral video captured the moment another apartment building was hit by a firework during the Fourth of July festivities, prompting a response from a local fire department.

According to a report from KABC, a fireworks display in downtown Los Angeles resulted in a fire in a high-rise complex after one of the rockets crashed through an apartment window on Sunday at approximately 10:30 p.m.

One witness known by her TikTok handle @axhleylashes confirmed with Newsweek that she saw the firework explode in her neighboring apartment in real time.

"I [invited] my family over for the Fourth just to hangout and watch the fireworks from my balcony. For the majority of the day the fireworks were far or on rooftops, not near the building," Ashley explained. "Once it became dark I think two groups of people set up in the parking lot directly across the street and started setting off fireworks. It was kinda scary since the buildings are so high up you almost feel like the fireworks are going off eye level.

"So we were watching and just so happened to catch what happened on film," she continued. "It's the same apartment complex, just a different tower. My first thought when I heard the glass was wondering if the firework hit the balcony or if it hit their side glass. And then of course just hoping no one was hurt in the building or outside where the glass was falling."

Ashley later posted footage of the incident to her account, which has since been viewed over 7 million times and liked by over 1.5 million viewers. Using the app's text-to-speech function, Ashley explains that her family was celebrating the holiday when the neighboring building was struck.

"My brother came over to watch the fireworks in DTLA," Ashley writes. The video starts with a series of colorful fireworks lighting up the California sky.

"Oh, that was so pretty!" one person adds behind the camera.

A moment later, a firework launched from the ground several stories below quickly approaches the high-rise building next door. "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," one person says in shock.

The firework disappears inside the building and a loud "boom" is heard as it detonates. "You can hear the glass falling," Ashley adds in text overlay on the video.

"Dude, that went in the building," she says.

The video cuts to an isolated screenshot of the firework lighting up the apartment in which it landed. "Thankfully the unit was empty," Ashley claims.

The video ends with a clip of a Los Angeles Fire Department truck parked outside the building. "RIP TO THIS CAR," Ashley writes in text overlay, implying that the broken glass had struck a vehicle parked below.

Ashley also noted with Newsweek that she went outside to check on her brother's vehicle, and confirmed that another car was found with a shattered windshield.

Many viewers took to the comments to air grievances about the damage fireworks can cause.

"This is exactly why personal fireworks should be illegal," one user wrote.

"Idk why we even do fireworks it's just always causing issues all around and the only good thing is 'pretty lights,'" another proclaimed.

Another clip taken from another nearby building was also posted to TikTok shortly after the firework incident. Lexie Jayy, or @lexie_jayy on the platform, is seen sitting on a friend's lap, reflecting that the fireworks display had ended. Behind her, the rogue firework flies into the apartment complex across from her building. Her video provides a clearer image of the moment of impact and the fire beginning.

Lexie's video has been viewed nearly 400,000 times and liked by over 87,000 viewers, many of whom previously viewed Ashley's video. "Lucky no one was in the unit," one viewer commented.

"The glass trinkling down hurts my stomach," another added.

A report from NBCLA confirmed that the firework was set off on the ground before it hit the window of one of the apartments and exploded indoors. The outlet obtained additional footage from another neighboring building of the moment the apartment was hit.

"I didn't think it would actually reach the building, but it hit the building," witness Andrew Yi said. "I think one of the sparks caught something on fire, and that was it. I wasn't expecting it. I've never seen anything like that in the past."

NBCLA reported that the fire had been put out by the time emergency responders arrived, and that the person or persons responsible have not yet been identified by law enforcement. KABC also confirmed that police reported no injuries in the fire.

Newsweek reached out to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the Los Angeles Police Department and Lexie for additional comment, but did not hear back in time for publication.

A more uplifting video of fireworks being set off in Los Angeles was posted to TikTok over the weekend, giving an aerial view of the colorful display while the person recording was on an airplane. In Michigan, a woman credited her newspaper deliveryman with saving her family from a home explosion during the holiday weekend.

Updated on July 8, 2021, at 4:30 p.m. ET, to include statements Ashley issued to Newsweek.