3 Firefighters Hurt As Fire Tears Through DTLA Fabric Warehouse

LOS ANGELES, CA — Three firefighters are recovering this morning after being injured while battling a major fire in the Downtown LA Arts District/Garment District. It took a team of 186 firefighters nearly three hours to battle the fire that decimated a a fabric wholesale firm overnight.

The fire broke out around at 12:10 a.m. at 1915 East Seventh St., Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey said. Smoke and flames shooting from the rooftop could be seen throughout the downtown area.

Flames were showing through the roof of the 10,360 square foot single- story commercial building when firefighters arrived, Humphrey said. They quickly went into a defensive posture, battling the blaze from the exterior, when the building became unsound, Humphrey said. Crews were able to keep the fire from spreading to nearby businesses, a major concern in an area of densely-packed fabric warehouses.

The building, which housed Payman Fabric, a wholesale firm in the downtown Arts District, was destroyed. The defensive efforts by firefighters spared an art and craft supply business on the east of the burned building and what appeared to be a paint firm on the west, Humphrey said.

The flames were finally declared out at 3:03 a.m.

Three firefighters had to be hospitalized, Humphrey said. Two suffered non-life threatening injuries and one had exhaustion. The three were expected to be treated, then released, he said. No civilian injuries were reported.

The cause of the blaze was under investigation, Humphrey said.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.