17 Cats Die In Culver City Mall Fire

CULVER CITY, CA — A fire that broke out in Culver City early Saturday morning killed 17 cats and sent one firefighter to the hospital, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

A passerby called 911 to report the first at 5:44 a.m. at the 9000 block of West Venice Boulevard. It took 124 firefighters 73 minutes to fully extinguish the fire after searching many businesses, including CatPlaceLA, a cat hotel, where they removed 19 cats from the smoke.

"While two of the cats were safely resuscitated by firefighters and soon transported to emergency veterinary care, seventeen others were sadly beyond medical help and perished at the scene," a statement from LAFD read.

The majority of the damage was done to five businesses including a nail salon, a smoke shop, a martial arts studio, a staffing agency and CatPlaceLA. Smoke, heat and water damage also affected a jewelry store and a restaurant in the strip mall.

According to LAFD, none of the businesses involved in the fire had sprinklers.

Though no injuries were reported, one firefighter was taken to the hospital for "sudden medical illness."

LAFD is currently investigating what may have caused the fire.