LOS ANGELES – A fire broke out and burned through the roof of a commercial building in a strip mall in Inglewood Thursday, forcing crews to take up defensive positions.
What we know:
The fire was reported around 12:10 p.m. Thursday in the 700 block of East Hyde Park Avenue, just north of Edward Vincent Jr. Park, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Flames were seen shooting through the roof of the building.
Crews aggressively fought the blaze, cutting ventilation holes in the roof, a portion of which collapsed. Crews were then seen getting off the roof as other firefighters sprayed water onto the building.
A second alarm was sounded at 12:23 p.m. and a third at 12:37 p.m., a fire department spokesman said. By 1:30 p.m., the fire was declared a 5 alarm.
By about 1:15 p.m., few flames were visible, but thick smoke continued to rise from the damaged buildings as firefighters used ladder hoses to train streams of water on the smoldering structures.
The fire destroyed the entire strip mall and crews demolished the rest of the building as it was too unstable to stand safely.
What they’re saying:
A family member of one of the business owners said they smelled smoke and only had enough time to run out, without grabbing anything.
What we don’t know:
It’s unclear what caused the fire. Construction workers were reportedly on the roof when the fire broke out. No injuries were reported.
The Source: Information for this story came from the Los Angeles County Fire Department. City News Service contributed to this report.