A fire tore through a vacant commercial building in El Monte Thursday, with flames shooting through the roof and forcing crews into a defensive mode.
The two-alarm blaze erupted around 4:30 p.m. at East Valley Boulevard and North Monterey Avenue, according to county fire Inspector Randall Wright.
About 50 county firefighters were dispatched to the scene and quickly assumed a defensive posture, pouring water on the building from the outside.
A knockdown was declared at 6:53 p.m., a county fire department official said.
Two firefighters were injured battling the flames, according to the department. One firefighter suffered heat exhaustion and the second minor burns and a laceration, according to the department.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation. According to the department, homeless people have been seen inside the building in the past.
–City News Service