HOLLYWOOD — Firefighters battled a structure fire on Sunday, February 2 that damaged two businesses.
According to Los Angeles Fire Department Spokesperson Brian Humphrey, firefighters responded to a 911 call from a resident at around 3:43 a.m. that alerted them to the incident on 5918 Santa Monica Boulevard, where businesses Herbs and Vitamins Araceli and E.H. Joyeria were on fire.
About 86 firefighters in total were on the scene to diminish the fire, when Battalion Chief Raymundo Gomez warned the crew that a collapse of the facade of the building was imminent. A video by LAFD Engineer Alonzo Williams, which was uploaded to the LAFD’s Flickr account, showed the collapse that happened within minutes of the fire department’s efforts. No personnel were injured during the collapse of the structure.
The blaze was extinguished in just over 20 minutes, where the cause of the fire is said to be “electrical in nature.” According to Mr. Humphrey, the damage, confined to the two businesses, was estimated to be around $160,000.