Firefighters battle raging blaze inside of a 3-story building in downtown LA

Los Angeles firefighters are trying to put out a blaze in downtown Los Angeles by dumping massive amounts of water on the building.

The fire started at about 7:30 p.m. in the 200 block of south Los Angeles Street. Firefighters said that sprinklers held the fire and prevented the blaze from rapidly spreading.

The roof of the three-story building seemed to cave in as dozens of firefighters continued to rain down water. 

According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the building was boarded-up when firefighters arrived and had the potential to collapse. Out of an abundance of caution, firefighters backed off from the building to create a buffer between them and the "collapse zone."

Several businesses on the ground floor were burned down.