Arson Suspected In 117-Year-Old Hollywood Theater Fire

HOLLYWOOD, CA — A fire destroyed a 117-year-old vacant theater in Hollywood Wednesday morning, causing the roof to collapse and sending a plume of smoke across the neighborhood.

A person of interest was detained by authorities.

The blaze was reported shortly after 9 a.m. in the 1400 block of North Las Palmas Avenue, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Nicholas Prange.

Flames shot through the roof of the two-story building, putting firefighters on the defensive.

"Firefighters spent the majority of the incident in defensive operations, as heavy fire compromised the structure, making it extremely hazardous to enter," Prange said in a statement.

"Upon arrival, firefighters saw smoke coming from the building. Shortly after making entry, heavy fire began burning through the roof," Prange said in a written statement. "Crews withdrew from inside and set up hose lines on adjacent roofs, and ladder pipes, focusing on protecting the surrounding properties. The heavy fire load has compromised the structure and there is a partial collapse (with risk for further collapse)."

The 9,082-square-foot theater was built in 1905, said Prange.

"Despite the heavy fire load and structural collapse of the vacant structure, firefighters were able to successfully protect structures on three sides, including several homes, the Hollywood Guest Inn and a multi-family residential building."

Authorities diverted traffic from around the area and continue to work to contain the blaze.

Firefighters extinguished the flames in just under two hours. The cause of the fire was under investigation, Prange said.

"This address will be red tagged by the Department of Building and Safety due to the significant structural damage," Prange said.

"Fire investigators from LAFD's Arson/Counter Terrorism Section arrived on scene for investigation and, in coordination with LAPD, have detained one person of interest for questioning," Prange said. "Thankfully, there were no injuries caused by this fire."

City News Service contributed to this report.