Los Angeles - Early Sunday morning, May 10, 2026, the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a commercial building fire in Downtown Los Angeles.

The fire was reported at 3:58 AM at 1225 South Hope Street, near Pico Boulevard. Firefighters were dispatched at 3:59 AM and the first unit arrived just over one minute later, finding a large 100-by-100-foot commercial building with fire showing.

The building was a two-story commercial occupancy with a mezzanine, doing business as an office supply company. Early reports indicated the bulk of the fire was on the first floor. Firefighters initially went inside the building to attack the fire and search for anyone who may have been trapped.

Photo Credit: LAFD Captain II Cody Weireter

As crews worked inside, fire conditions continued to worsen. Heavy fire began showing from the roof, and thick smoke was pushing under pressure from the building’s roll-up doors. Because of the increasing danger to firefighters, the incident commander ordered all crews out of the building and changed the operation to an exterior fire attack. All LAFD members were accounted for after the order was given.

Photo Credit: LAFD Captain II Cody Weireter

The fire caused a roof collapse onto the second floor, making parts of the building unsafe and inaccessible. Because firefighters could not safely reach all areas of the second floor, crews continued working from the outside while allowing fire trapped beneath the collapsed roofing materials to burn through enough to be fully extinguished.

Photo Credit: LAFD Assistant Chief Melford Beard

The fire produced a significant amount of smoke in an area surrounded by high-rise residential buildings. Firefighters used large hose streams from outside the structure, including an elevated stream from an aerial ladder called a ladder pipe operation, to help control the fire and reduce smoke affecting the surrounding area. The bulk of the smoke later dissipated.

Photo Credit: LAFD Captain II Cody Weireter

One firefighter was injured during the operation and transported to a local hospital.

The incident grew to a Major Emergency response, with approximately 124 LAFD firefighters initially assigned to the firefighting effort. That number grew later in the incident as additional resources were requested, including arson investigators, the LAFD firefighter rehabilitation unit and the Emergency Air unit to support firefighter rehabilitation and to refill SCBA breathing-air bottles, LAFD Urban Search and Rescue unit, LAFD heavy equipment, excavators, and the LAFD Remote Suppression Unit, which is the department’s remote-controlled firefighting robot.

Photo Credit: LAFD Captain II Cody Weireter

Although, some fire remained burning and smoldering inside, the main body of fire was brought under control and an official knockdown was declared at 5:52 AM. Time from first units on scene to a declaration of knockdown was 1 hour and 52 minutes.  Crews remained on scene for an extended operation due to the collapsed roof, remaining hot spots, and the need for heavy equipment to assist with final extinguishment and cleanup.

Photo Credit: LAFD Captain II Cody Weireter

The Los Angeles Police Department, Department of Water & Power and the Department of Transportation were notified during the incident. Arson investigators responded, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.