A fire Wednesday damaged a 26-story office building in the Brentwood area that was being remodeled, and one person was taken to a hospital for examination.
Firefighters sent to the 11600 block of Wilshire boulevard at 6:30 a.m. extinguished the flames in 40 minutes, said Brian Humphrey of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
“Remodeling (was) taking place on the three lowermost floors,” Humphrey said. “Exterior scaffolding supported a tent-like protection `wrapping’ of those three lower floors that caught fire during a period of strong and sustained — 35 mph-plus — wind, with flames swiftly extending into the first three floors.”
The first and second floors sustained most of the serious damage, and multiple lower-floor windows were broken by the wind-swept flames, Humphrey said.
More than 50 occupants of the building were safely evacuated, and fire sprinklers activated as designed on multiple floors, Humphrey said.
A man suffered smoke exposure and was taken to a hospital for examination. His condition was unknown.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.