Major Emergency Fire Burns Textile Business In Downtown LA

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — A major emergency fire broke out early Tuesday at a downtown LA building, just a few blocks away from a warehouse that exploded and injured a dozen firefighters.

The fire broke out at about 3:50 a.m. at Lavitex Inc. on South Mateo Street. Los Angeles Fire Department officials said the building contained rolled textiles.

LAFD spokesman Capt. Erik Scott described a large warehouse packed full of fabric.

"There are rolled textiles, clothing type material, what we call classic combustibles inside that are rolled and stacked five foot tall times three, so there's about 15 foot tall combustibles, of which is a significant fire load," Scott said.

Scott said crews have gained the upper hand on the flames, had it out by 6 a.m. However, they remained on the scene, hosing down racks of textiles to make sure they were no longer smoldering.

The business was not open at the time of the fire, and no injuries have been reported.

The warehouse is just a few blocks from a smoke and vaping shop that went up in flames Saturday and exploded, injuring 12 firefighters, four of whom remain hospitalized. Those firefighters were from LAFD's Station 9, which also sent an engine to Tuesday's blaze.

In:
• Los Angeles