A fire gutted a two-story commercial building in the Little Armenia area of Los Angeles today, but no one was hurt, authorities said.
The fire in the 5400 block of West Santa Monica Boulevard was reported about 7:10 a.m., said Katherine Main of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
About 150 firefighters were sent to the scene, and they extinguished the fire in an hour and 39 minutes, she said.
A damage estimate was not immediately available, but the building appeared to be “a total loss,” said LAFD Deputy Chief Joseph Castro.
Castro said the fire appeared to have begun in the attic of the building, but the cause remained under investigation.
When firefighters first arrived on scene, they battled the flames from inside the building and from atop the roof.
But after about 20 minutes, they were ordered to get out of the second floor and off the roof and assume a defensive posture, battling the blaze from the exterior.
Firefighters using ladder trucks poured water on the flames and prevented them from spreading to other buildings.
