Blaze destroys 10 businesses at Monterey Park strip mall

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. (KABC) -- Two firefighters were injured early Thursday morning while battling a dramatic blaze at a strip mall in Monterey Park, where 40 residents of a nearby apartment building were evacuated.

The stubborn fire broke out shortly after 1:30 a.m. in the 300 block of Garvey Avenue, according to the Monterey Park Fire Department, and burned for more than three hours before being completely extinguished.

A pair of firefighters sustained minor injuries and were transported to a hospital for treatment.

The fire caused a partial collapse of the single-story structure and a power outage that temporarily affected 1,759 customers in the area.

Ten businesses were destroyed by the flames, whose intensity initially forced firefighters to assume a defensive position.

After the collapse, "we pulled all personnel out and we attacked it from the outside," fire Capt. Matt Hallock said.

The evacuation order was lifted after 5:30 a.m. No residents were reported injured.

The cause of the fire was not immediately known.

Garvey was closed between Russell and Alhambra avenues as a cleanup operation and investigation got underway.

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