Vacant Downtown LA Commercial Building Destroyed by Flames
It took the relentless effort of over 130 firefighters, on Wednesday evening, to control a Major Emergency commercial fire, which consumed a three-story building in Downtown LA.
The Los Angeles Fire Department was summoned at 7:33 PM on October 26, 2022 to the 200 block of East 3rd Street, where firefighters arrived quickly to find an already well-developed fire inside of a large vacant three-story commercial building.
Firefighters recognized this building as the site of a previous burn, and took a defensive firefighting posture for nearly two hours until the fire was controlled, just after 9:00 PM. Flames extended into one upper-floor unit of a neighboring 5-story residential structure, where sprinklers held it in check until firefighters quickly ascended to extinguish it.
As the structurally compromised building was too dangerous to allow personnel to enter and locate remaining pockets of fire that night, LAFD crews instead remained on a fire watch overnight, keeping any flare ups from growing, and waited for heavy equipment to arrive at daybreak to assist with accessing remaining hot spots, complete extinguishment and perform overhaul, which was completed Thursday morning. The City's Department of Building and Safety formally red-tagged the structure and unfit for entry, and closed the adjacent sidewalks to the public as a precaution.
There were no injuries to firefighters or civilians. The cause of the fire remains under active investigation.
