Fire Hits Vacant Restaurant Near Beverly Center
Fire raged through a vacant two-story restaurant near the Beverly Center shopping mall for more than two hours late Monday afternoon, but no injuries were reported, Los Angeles fire officials said.
About 45 firefighters battled the flames in the unoccupied structure at 358 S. La Cienega Blvd., which once was the Old Fish Shanty restaurant.
The fire was reported at 3:42 p.m. and continued to burn through the upper floor of the empty building for more than two hours before firefighters were able to gain control, fire spokesman Jim Wells said.
The gray plume of smoke from the blaze was visible over a wide area of Los Angeles.
When firefighters arrived, they found the second floor “well-involved” in flames and entered the structure in an attempt to battle the blaze from the inside, Assistant Fire Chief Jim Young said.
But the intensity of the flames forced them to retreat and fight the fire from ladders, hosing down the structure from the outside.
The cause of the fire, which did an estimated $150,000 in damage, was under investigation.
The restaurant had been closed for about a year, officials said.
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