Former Supermarket Erupts In Flames; Extinguished Early Thursday

SUN VALLEY, CA— In an hour and a half, over 100 firefighters extinguished a structure fire that erupted at a vacant former supermarket in Sun Valley early Thursday morning.

The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) responded to the fire, located at 8025 N Vineland Ave., at around 3:15 a.m. after police officers on patrol reported it, the LAFD said in an alert. The fire was declared a "major emergency" an hour later and was extinguished by 4:45 a.m.

No injuries were reported and no victims were located in the debris after a search by Human Remain Detection K9 teams, the LAFD said in a statement.

"When the first fire companies arrived, they found heavy fire at the back of the building had extended forward. The incident commander quickly implemented a defensive operation with crews on all four sides of the structure," the LAFD said. "Truck companies deployed ladder pipes and engine companies put large diameter hand lines in place. Over 100 firefighters battled the fire for 95 minutes before Assistant Chief John Drake declared a knockdown."

The building was built in 1958 and was over 80,000 square feet. The official cause of its fire is "undetermined" after the LAFD Arson and Counter-Terrorism Section completed an investigation into the incident.