Two vacant buildings were engulfed in flames Monday at the 129-year-old Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey, authorities said.
The first fire was reported at 2:27 a.m. in a two-story building on the campus at 7601 E. Imperial Highway, according to a Downey Fire Department dispatcher.
The building was well-involved in flames when firefighters arrived, he said. As they began fighting that fire, they learned a building about a block away was also burning and found a 100 sq. ft. building fully also fully involved in flames, the dispatcher said.
The smaller building “collapsed on itself,” he said. Firefighters put out the flames at 3:11 a.m. and extinguisjed the flames in the two-story building at 3:50 a.m., he said.
An arson investigation was underway, he said. No injuries were reported.
Rancho Los Amigos was founded in 1888 to serve families who could not afford medical services, according to its website. It now specializes in rehabilitating patients who have suffered strokes and other injuries or ailments.
—City News Service