At 11:37 a.m. (PST), 11 companies of Los Angeles firefighters, six LAFD rescue ambulances, one arson unit, one urban search and rescue unit, one hazardous materials team, one EMS battalion captain, three battalion chief officer command teams and one division chief officer command team, all under the direction of Battalion Chief Ralph Ramirez responded to a greater alarm structure fire at 3855 West Santa Rosalia Drive in the Crenshaw District.
The first company arrived quickly to discover heavy smoke showing from a one story 50-by-60 foot commercial structure. Firefighters extended handlines and forced entry to do battle within a vacant commercial building that was well involved with fire, threatening structures across breezeways to the north. The aggressive and well-coordinated efforts of 85 Los Angeles firefighters confined the fire to the structure of origin and brought the flames under control in less than 25 minutes. There were no injuries. Fire loss to the non-occupied building is estimated at $51,000 ($50,000 structure and $1,000 contents). The cause of this blaze has been categorized as incendiary.