More than 250 firefighters battled a massive building fire near downtown Los Angeles — a blaze that snarled traffic during the Monday morning commute and left some freeway lanes closed well into the day.
The fire began in an unoccupied multi-story building that took up almost an entire city block at around 1:20 a.m. There are so far no reports of injuries. The seven-story apartment complex, which was still under construction, was engulfed in flames that could be seen for miles.
One fire station was almost directly across the street from the building, and firefighters were on the scene almost immediately after the fire began, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman David Ortiz. But by that time, the fire had already moved quickly through the structure because it was under construction. According to the Los Angeles Times, the fire engulfed two-thirds of the more than 1.3 million square foot structure.“This is a historic fire, what we as firefighters would call ‘a career fire,’” Ortiz told NBC News. “It’s huge. I really can’t remember a building fire this big, and I have been with the department for 13 years.”
The LAFD is conducting an arson investigation, which is standard procedure for a large fire. They are being assisted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Los Angeles County.
“All investigations are treated as if they are criminal until proven otherwise,” said LAFD spokeswoman Katherine Maine.
The building, planned as a luxury apartment complex which was set to open in 2015, was adjacent to the 110 Freeway at the intersection of Temple Street and Fremont Avenue. As they worked to battle the blaze, firefighters used the freeway as a staging ground, closing it in both directions at one point.Portions of the 110 have since re-opened, but three freeway lanes remain closed in the northbound direction due to concerns that burned scaffolding from the building may continue to fall on the roadway. The 101 Freeway has reopened but the interchange between the 110 and 101 freeways remains closed, California Highway Patrol said Monday evening
More than six hours after the fire began, firefighters continued to pour water on pockets of fire and heat, though the blaze was declared under control about two-and-a-half hours into the incident, Ortiz said.
Massive amounts of smoke and flames could be seen as drivers sat in slow traffic as the Monday morning commute began, according to eyewitness video.Two nearby buildings suffered some fire, heat and water damage, but firefighters were able to prevent the fire from spreading to 16-story office building, the Los Angeles Times reported. More than 160 windows shattered,
“Large windows gave under the amount of heat,” said LAFD spokesman Jaime Moore, according to the paper. “There was active fire on three floors.”The 16-story building, which according to the paper housed the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, sustained smoke, heat or water damage on nearly every floor.
“Our firefighters were able to get in there, knockdown this fire, contain it,” said LAFD Captain Jaime Moore, according to KTLA. “We do have 14 of those 16 floors with some significant form of damage, either through smoke, radiant heat or water damage.”
A second high rise building that according to KTLA, housed the Los Angeles County Health Services, sustained some fire damage but had no open flames.Employees in both buildings were told not to report to work in those buildings, according to the Times.
The apartment complex looked to be “completely lost,” Ortiz told NBC News. On its website, the apartment, the Da Vinci, now says that the building opening is “delayed” due to the fire.
About a quarter of the LAFD was engaged in firefighting activities at the downtown fire and others in the city, Ortiz said. And 38 companies were deployed to the apartment complex at the height of the fire.
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