Blaze destroys 10 businesses at Monterey Park strip mall

Thursday, December 15, 2016
Blaze destroys 10 businesses at Monterey Park strip mall
Blaze destroys 10 businesses at Monterey Park strip mallTwo firefighters were injured early Thursday while battling a blaze that destroyed 10 businesses at a 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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