Firefighters worked for 1 hour and 38 minutes Monday morning to put out a major emergency blaze in two units of a single-story commercial building in the Fashion District of downtown Los Angeles while also protecting the structures near it.
The fire was first reported at about 2:10 a.m. as a dumpster fire in an alley threatening the structure at 771 E. Pico Boulevard, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman Jennifer Middleton.
First arriving firefighters found heavy smoke coming from two units in the row of commercial occupancies and began an offensive attack on the roof and inside, Middleton said.
But conditions began to deteriorate and commanders decided to take a defensive stance, pulling firefighters off of, and out of, the building so they could try to drown the flames from outside and protect nearby occupancies, she said.
At about 3:20 a.m., Middleton reported that firefighters were making progress. “Firefighters continue to fight the large commercial blaze defensively, utilizing ladder-pipe operations as well as large diameter hand lines,” she said.
The fire was out at 3:48 a.m. with no spread to neighboring businesses and no injuries, Middleton said.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, she added.
The building is on Pico Boulevard between San Pedro Street and Stanford Avenue.