Fire destroys Huntington Park warehouse

Some 160 county firefighters battled a massive blaze in a Huntington Park warehouse Monday evening that partially collapsed the roof and forced a defensive stand outside the building.

The fire was reported at 8:30 p.m. in the 40,000-square-foot warehouse at Salt Lake and Gage avenues, according to Los Angeles County Firefighter Specialist Jonathan Matheny.

The first arriving firefighters reported the warehouse was fully engulfed and called for a second alarm, Matheny said. They immediately took up positions outside the structure because it was too dangerous to go inside or onto the roof.

No civilians or firefighters were injured when the roof at the rear of the building collapsed, he said. “It was a significant collapse.”

One firefighter was taken to a hospital for treatment after he “tweaked” an ankle during the defensive battle, Matheny said.

Eventually, fire officials called for a third-alarm response plus five more engine companies to continue to drown the flames with water and protect nearby structures.

The flames were officially out at 11:05 p.m., Matheny said.

Investigators will have to wait until the building remnants cooled down before searching for the cause and making certain no one was inside, he said. There was no reason to believe anyone was inside when the fire broke out.

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