Commercial Fire in Harbor Gateway Erupts on the 4th of July
On the night of July 4, 2026, the Los Angeles City Fire Department (LAFD), with mutual aid assistance from the Los Angeles County Fire Department, extinguished a commercial structure fire in the Harbor Gateway area.
At 9:49 PM, firefighters responded to a report of a fire at a 100' x 100' commercial building located at 14325 Figueroa Ave. The first arriving unit reported heavy fire showing from the rear of the building. Firefighters initially entered the structure in an offensive mode to locate and extinguish the seat of the fire.
Due to a heavy fire load and flames breaking through the roof (extending 20–30 feet into the air), multiple nearby exposures were threatened. Figueroa IC, under the command of Assistant Chief (AC2) Mel Beard, transitioned operations to a defensive strategy, utilizing ladder pipes and heavy ground streams to contain the fire and protect adjacent structures.
Once the external bulk of the fire was knocked down, crews transitioned back to an interior offensive attack to extinguish the remaining hot spots inside the building.
A total of 78 firefighters worked for 3 hours and 12 minutes to bring the fire under control. A final knockdown was achieved at 1:11 AM on July 5, 2026. No injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the LAFD Arson/Counter Terrorism Section.
