Los Angeles, CA – Fire at large commercial building contained by fire sprinklers; No injuries reported

A fire that burned for 49 minutes Saturday morning damaged a large commercial building in downtown Los Angeles before being extinguished by firefighters.

Crews responded to the one-story building with smoke showing in the 300 block of East 18th Street near Maple Avenue, just south of the eastbound Santa Monica (10) Freeway at 2:44 a.m., according to Nicholas Prange of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The building contained clothing and boxes in packrat-like conditions, Prange said.

“Fire attack searched for the seat of the fire in heavy smoke conditions in the large building, eventually finding it and extinguishing it, with help from the ventilation group on the roof to help with smoke conditions,” Prange said.

Fire sprinklers inside the building kept the flames from spreading, he said.

A total of 55 firefighters worked to extinguish the fire and knock down was declared at 3:33 a.m., Prange said.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire was under investigation.