Office Fire Causes $400,000 Damage

A fire that burned through the top floor of a three-story Van Nuys office building caused an estimated $400,000 in damages, the Los Angeles Fire Department reported Thursday.

Officials said the cause of the Wednesday night fire at the Howard Building in the 6900 block of Van Nuys Boulevard was still undetermined, but there were no indications that it was arson.

The blaze was reported about 8 p.m. and 70 firefighters fought it for two hours before bringing it under control. One firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation, but there were no injuries. Most of the offices were closed, but a cleaning crew was forced to flee the building, officials said.

The fire resulted in the closure of several offices Thursday. One was the Volunteer Center of the Assistance League of Southern California, which provides volunteers to several San Fernando Valley agencies that help elderly and disabled citizens and youth groups.

A spokeswoman for the Volunteer Center, which also serves as a placement center for people required to do community volunteer work as part of court-ordered misdemeanor sentences, said the center’s phone lines are expected to be transferred to another office today to avoid disruption of the agency’s services.