Roughly 120 firefighters, including one who was hospitalized with minor injuries, battled a large fire that burned for hours Sunday morning inside a downtown L.A. office supplies store, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
The blaze was reported about 4 a.m. at the two-story building with a mezzanine located at 1225 South Hope St. near West Pico Boulevard. Upon arrival, firefighters encountered heavy smoke and flames.
Firefighters transitioned from offensive to defensive mode and used a remote-suppression robot to enter the building, LAFD spokesperson Jennifer Middleton said. Arson and emergency air units were also requested to the scene.
A blaze was reported at about 4 a.m. in downtown L.A. at 1225 South Hope St. (Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)
The blaze was initially contained by 5:52 a.m., but the building’s contents rekindled, said LAFD Battalion Chief Peter Hsiao.
As of 10 a.m., firefighters remained at the scene “trying to remove paper from the building to stop it from catching on fire,” Hsiao said.
By 10:30 a.m., the building’s roof had collapsed, according to a Times photographer who was at the scene. By 11 a.m., the building was again engulfed in flames.
The address is associated with Bluebird Office Supplies. A voicemail left for a number listed for the business owner was not immediately returned.
No one was inside the building at the time of the blaze, Middleton said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
