Fire Size of City Block Incinerates Downtown Los Angeles Building
More than 200 firefighters were called to the scene of a seven-story apartment complex fire in downtown Los Angeles early this morning. The complex appears to have been leveled in the blaze, with two other buildings damaged and the 101 Freeway briefly closed off to traffic.
The fire broke out early Monday at the in-construction DaVinci apartment complex. According to the Los Angeles Times, the building took up an entire city block. From KTLA:
Firefighters first responded to reports of a blaze at 906 N. Fremont Ave. (map) around 1:20 a.m., LAFD Chief Ralph M. Terrazas said.
About two-thirds of the seven-story apartment complex, which was under construction and mostly made of wood framing, was on fire, Terrazas said.
The building covered about 1.3-million square feet of floor space, and the fire caused significant exposure to two adjacent buildings.
KTLA also reports that the DaVinci "appeared to be almost completely leveled," with only the concrete stairwell left standing.
Firefighters were able to contain the fire in 90 minutes; an accelerant-sniffing dog was on the scene for a potential arson investigation.
This shot really captures the size of the fire tonight in downtown LA https://t.co/dcJYfSHOTe pic.twitter.com/07UVZJtWWf
— Jon Passantino (@passantino) December 8, 2014
MAJOR FIRE: Apartment complex under construction catches fire in downtown LA, closing the 101 and 110 freeways pic.twitter.com/vbWiUEixmI
— Chase Cain (@ChaseCainTV) December 8, 2014
Photos, Video: Massive Downtown LA Apartment Fire Causes Partial Freeway Closures http://t.co/PlSwCvYcqB via @LAist pic.twitter.com/461GEYjeKp
— Gothamist (@Gothamist) December 8, 2014
A massive fire broke out in downtown LA last night. Photos are otherworldly http://t.co/gTJa4dUKy3 pic.twitter.com/CqBe9SfIu3 #lafire
— A Christmas Tree (@moneyries) December 8, 2014
Pictures of the fire tonight in downtown LA, from @RMGNews pic.twitter.com/b9fJGBdIK6
— Jim Dalrymple II (@JimDalrympleII) December 8, 2014
UPDATE: More than 250 fire fighters are currently battling the Downtown LA blaze. http://t.co/0Lv8K6PlK9 #9News pic.twitter.com/nzzF1ZGunO
— Nine News Australia (@9NewsAUS) December 8, 2014