Massive Fire In Downtown Los Angeles Today

Fire engulfs building in downtown Los Angeles garment district

8:16 AM PDT, June 5, 2008 A huge fire raged for nearly two hours this morning at a commercial building in the downtown Los Angeles garment district, seeping smoke into the city center's skyline and shutting down streets as scores of firefighters fought the blaze, officials said.

Firefighters arrived at 1034 S. Los Angeles St. about 4:50 a.m. to find heavy smoke and fire coming from the rear of the structure, said Los Angeles City Fire Department spokeswoman d'Lisa Davies.

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The blaze was brought under control at 6:45, though hot spots could be seen flaring for some time after that, Davies said.

The fire began at the rear of a wholesale comforter and fabric store, said Ralph Terrazas, the Fire Department incident commander at the scene.

"It's common to have fires in the fabric district because of the combustibility of the fabrics," Terrazas said. "They're typically stacked so tight, as [a fire] gets room and headway it takes off and that's what happened here."

Melody Lim rushed to the scene shortly after hearing about the fire on the radio about 7:15.

Lim has owned Melody's Bridal Collection -- located next door to the building that burned -- with her sister for 25 years.

Outside her store this morning, Lim cried hysterically, yelling repeatedly to firefighters, "Don't put water over there please, don't put water in there, that is my business, you damaged my building!"

As white smoke still rose from the burning building, Battalion Chief Ron Villanueva said at least 10 businesses were affected, most on the building's first floor. Bridal shops, blanket stores and a handful of retail fashion outlets were in the building, with the second floor used for storage, he said.

Villanueva told reporters that "mop-up efforts" were underway after 175 firefighters battled the fire. He said efforts to fight the fire were eased because most streets were fairly empty early in the morning and were easily accessible to firefighting equipment.

No injuries were reported and no one is believed to have been living in the building, Villanueva said. The cause is still under investigation, he said.

During the height of the blaze, firefighters could be seen pouring water onto the building from street-level and above as flames and black smoke shot into the morning sky barely a half-mile east of Staples Center.

Officials said 38 fire companies responded to the blaze, and six to seven aerial ladder trucks were called to the scene.

Firefighters initially entered the building but soon came out and assumed a defensive stance, fighting the fire from the streets, Davies said.

Apparently fueled by tons of fabric, the flames spread throughout the structure and shot through the roof, Fire Chief Douglas Barry told reporters at the scene. But firefighters were able to confine the fire to the building, he said.

Barry also said some electric transformers near the building exploded, and a manhole cover was blown into the air as a result of the fire.

By 7:30, officials said only Los Angeles Street between Olympic Boulevard and 11th Street remained closed and was likely to stay shut down to traffic until the afternoon.

Source: LA Times News