LA Times – by LAUREN RAAB, SHELBY GRAD
A massive fire in downtown Los Angeles early Monday engulfed an apartment tower under construction, damaged two other buildings and left freeways and roads closed.
The 110 Freeway northbound remains closed, but Caltrans reopened the 101 and 110 southbound at around 4:30 a.m.
More than 250 firefighters are battling the blaze at an apartment tower under construction in the 900 block of Fremont Avenue, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman David Ortiz said.
“It’s huge,” he said.
The LAFD said two other buildings along Figueroa Street were also damaged by the fire. A building at 331 N. Figueroa St. suffered “external damage from radiant heat” while fire damaged several floors of a 16-story office tower at 212 N. Figueroa St.
Fire spokesman Jaime Moore told The Times the office tower suffered fire and sprinkler water damage.
“Large windows gave under the amount of heat,” Moore said, adding that sprinklers activated on six of its floors. “There was active fire on three floors.”
Moore said firefighters managed to get inside both buildings and prevent the fires from spreading.
Moore said the apartment complex covered an entire block. The bottom two stories were made of concrete; the upper five floors were made of wood frame. Much of the structure was lost.
“This is a significant building that has sustained serious damage.”
As of 5 a.m., the site is still smoldering. Officials don’t know when it will be full extinguished.
Officials said the cause and extent of the fire were not yet known. There were no immediate reports of injuries. Arson investigators were on the scene, but officials said that was common for such a large blaze.
A series of dense, upscale apartment complexes have been built over the last decade around the 110-110 freeway interchange, and another one, known as the DaVinci, was currently under construction.
“Experience urban-style elegance and European living in the heart of downtown Los Angeles. The Da Vinci, the newest member of the Renaissance collection, will offer fifteen unique floor plans to match your lifestyle,” the projects website said. “Indulge in world-class amenities, such as a state of the art fitness facility, a full size indoor basketball court, a residential lounge, a library, a theater and a business center.”
The building had been in the news earlier this year when the developer sought a pedestrian bridge that would link the DaVinci to other complexes in the area and offer residents a direct route into the downtown attractions.
When the fire broke out at about 1:20 a.m., flames could be seen for miles, with some people on social media capture shots from as far away as the Hollywood Hills. Photos and video capture flames racing into the air as motorists drove by.
Firefighters used the 110 Freeway to set up and fight the blaze.
Moore said it might take some time to reopen the northbound 110 Freeway. Besides having fire vehicles parked on it, there is some scaffolding from the building still standing, and officials are worried it will collapse onto the freeway.
Footage from KTLA showed that heat from the fire burned freeway directional signs and melted the plastic bumps embedded into the roadway. The video showed much of the apartment burned to the ground, with the fire escape still standing.
The LAFD was fighting a second blaze Monday morning, this one at a commercial building at 2871 W. 7th Street in the Pico-Union district. About 100 firefighters were on scene.
Copyright © 2014, Los Angeles Times
Another huge building on fire 3/4 s of a mile from this fire. The new fire is totally involved another multi story building. LAFD really hard at it this morning.
you recon arson?
i find the construction strange.
2 concrete floors, 9 unspecified floors, then 5 wood floors.
normally all floors are the same, so why the wood?
is it because it’s light and allows them to build higher than it was designed for?
and what’s the middle 9 floors, steel?
i cant get the idea out of my head that someone took a 12 floor steel design and said “hey, if we remove the top floor and then use something a lot lighter we can get extra floors to cash in on without overloading the main structure”
that’s the type of criminal thinking that makes buildings collapse in strong weather!!
The Marines are still training in downtown LA until Dec. 16th. I wonder if they had something to do with this?