Firefighters Extinguish Blaze At Coogie's Cafe In Santa Monica

SANTA MONICA, CA – Firefighters extinguished a fire in a Santa Monica restaurant in 18 minutes Thursday evening.

Crews responded to Coogie's Cafe in the 2900 block of Santa Monica Boulevard at 9:09 p.m. and found a heavy fire spreading rapidly through the back of the restaurant and into plants behind the building, according to Capt. Patrick Nulty of the Santa Monica Fire Department.

A total of 28 firefighters battled the flames inside the building and kept the fire from spreading and damaging other nearby buildings, Nulty said. Knock down was declared at 9:27 p.m.

"(Coogie's) was open earlier today, and they were having what appeared to be possibly some electrical issues, so they shut down early, and then shortly thereafter is when they noticed some smoke coming from the building and called 911," SMFD Battalion Chief Marc Rose told the Los Angeles Times.

Cafe employees immediately evacuated when they discovered the fire, Nulty said.

No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire was under investigation.

City News Service contributed to this post