Massive 3-Alarm Fire Engulfs Warehouse; Emits 'Noxious' Fumes

COMMERCE, CA — A massive three-alarm fire engulfed an industrial warehouse in Commerce Friday, sending thick black smoke into the air visible for miles, but no injuries were reported.

The blaze erupted about 3:40 a.m. in the 6500 block of Flotilla Street west of Davie Avenue. Responding Los Angeles County Fire Department crews encountered flames chewing through the 100,000-square-foot-plus structure.

The resulting plume of black smoke could be seen for miles, and the inferno raging in the structure lit up the pre-dawn sky.

Just before 10 a.m., L.A. County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who was on scene at the blaze, tweeted that the fire continued to burn and that "the fumes ... are noxious."

"LACoFD has told local schools that students should remain indoors during recess as fire continues to burn at warehouse," Hahn tweeted.

LACoFD Capt. Sheila Kelliher told Fox11 at the scene that the building where the fire originated housed a plastic bench supplier. Kelliher said the fire started near the loading dock area, but the cause was under investigation.

"Our units have done a great job getting a handle on this," Kelliher said shortly after 7 a.m. "It is a stubborn fire ... there are a lot of products in there, plastics and whatnot, so they get hot and they burn heavy; so, they're doing a great job. You can see by the smoke that we're close to knockdown."

Arriving firefighters found that the roof of the structure had quickly collapsed as flames ripped through the building, forcing the firefighters into a defensive posture.

Firefighters poured water onto the flames from ladders raised outside the structure.

The flames were contained to the single sprawling structure, not spreading to any other buildings.

City News Service