The Region - News from Dec. 20, 1985
Fire destroyed a 60-year-old brick building in downtown Huntington Beach and left a firefighter critically injured when a portion of one of the building’s walls collapsed on him. Thomas Townsend, 46, an engineer, was walking alongside the burning two-story building checking for utilities to be shut off when the top section of the brick wall collapsed on him, authorities said. The white brick structure, which housed a surfboard shop, a shoe store and swimwear store and five upstairs apartments, suffered an estimated $625,000 in damages, officials said. Cause of the fire was under investigation.
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