A “person of interest” was questioned by arson investigators Thursday morning after a two-alarm fire damaged a three-story home under construction in Hermosa Beach and spread to four other nearby homes before it was extinguished.

The fire was reported shortly before 2 a.m. in the 800 block of The Strand and was extinguished in about an hour, the Los Angeles County Fire Department reported.

One firefighter suffered a minor injury, and was treated at a hospital, said county fire Inspector Brian Stevens. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

Stevens said Hermosa Beach police detained a “person of interest” who was running from the area, and he was being questioned by authorities.

“It’s not unusual for someone to possibly stick around in an arson case,” Stevens told ABC7. “Right now, this is under investigation, it’s not deemed an arson yet. But, the L.A. County Fire Department Arson Unit does have someone detained and they are going to be questioning him on the cause.”

Video from the scene showed flames on nearby homes. Four homes were damaged and some about six residents were briefly evacuated, Stevens said.

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