Intense fire guts vacant building in downtown Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The area around a vacant old commercial building in downtown Los Angeles was closed to the public Thursday after an intense fire created concern that the three-story structure could collapse, authorities said.

The fire erupted Wednesday night and was brought under control by more than 100 firefighters shortly before midnight, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Nicholas Prange said in a statement.

The fire spread into one unit of an adjacent five-story residential building but was stopped with the help of a sprinkler.

Prange said it was unsafe for firefighters to enter the three-story building.

“There was no collapse during the incident, but the building has been red-tagged by Building and Safety and nearby sidewalks are closed to the public as a precaution, as there are signs of compromised structural integrity,” Prange said.

The building on South Los Angeles Street had been boarded up before the blaze.