A greater-alarm fire Wednesday damaged eight commercial buildings and two homes in an unincorporated county area near South Los Angeles, and a hazardous-materials team was sent to inspect the scene.
The greater-alarm fire was reported in the 5800 block of South Hooper Avenue in the unincorporated Florence area shortly after 1 a.m., and about 250 firefighters were sent to battle the flames, Los Angeles County Fire Department Inspector David Dantic said.
Arriving firefighters found the flames burning through the roof of a metal-clad, 300- by-300-foot building, and they went into a defensive mode, fighting the fire from the exterior as they worked to prevent the flames from spreading to other buildings, Dantic said.
But the fire quickly spread and ended up affecting an area described as a “city block” in size, Dantic said. He said one firefighter suffered a minor injury during the firefight.
After about 2 1/2 hours, firefighters began getting the upper hand on the flames. By around daybreak, the blaze was nearly extinguished, and crews concentrated on dousing hot spots.
The effort to completely douse hot spots was continuing early this afternoon. A hazardous-materials team was sent to the scene to assess the area for possible health hazards.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
A damage estimate was not immediately released. But the damaged businesses included a furniture manufacturer, warehouse, mattress store, welding shop and restaurant, according to reports from the scene. One of the damaged homes was vacant, Dantic said.
Los Angeles Fire Department personnel assisted county firefighters in battling the blaze.
Two dogs found in the rubble were reunited with their owner.
—City News Service