Trash fire downtown Los Angeles spreads to 5 commercial buildings

A Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter was injured battling a massive fire downtown Los Angeles that spread to multiple nearby buildings before crews got it under control Friday morning.

A total of five buildings were damaged by the blaze and two were completely destroyed, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The fire began at an outside storage area at 683 S. Kohler St. near Seventh Street and burned for over 5 hours, spreading to multiple other buildings on that block.

Fire crews responded around 2:07 a.m. and began battling the flames with both defensive and offensive tactics, said LAFD. The fire spread to a group of buildings at 747 S. Kohler St.

It took over 170 firefighters to put out the blaze in around 5 hours.

One firefighter was taken to the hospital for a knee injury and was in stable condition. No other injuries reported.

Crews will remain on scene to put out any hot spots and continue to cool material beneath the debris. Smoke will be seen in the area throughout the day, fire officials said.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.