Fire Guts Top Floors of Commercial Building

A fire gutted the top floors of a Laguna Beach commercial building early Monday, damaging 12 businesses and causing an estimated $4.7 million in damage.

Three firefighters suffered minor injuries in the blaze, which began about 7:30 a.m.

They were identified as reserve Capt. John Luna and firefighters Joe Maxson and Tom Christopher. Luna, who was hit on the head by falling debris, was treated and released at South Coast Medical Center in Laguna Beach. Maxson and Christopher suffered shoulder injuries, and were also treated and released.

Eight businesses had moderate to heavy damage, said Fire Chief Bill Edmundson.

Many of the shops had just received their shipment of holiday merchandise.

“We had just stocked up for the Christmas season and to show you how full we were, we had run out of clothes hangers,” said store owner Laura Downing.

Overall damage to the downtown district was minimal, said Bonnie Rohrer, Chamber of Commerce president. But the toll on owners and employees whose shops burned was great, she said.

Emporio Optics, which had opened Friday, was one of those businesses.

“You see that brick wall?” said store manager David Dixon, pointing to the fire-ravaged building. “We share that wall; it’s our interior wall. We’ve put up our eyeglass cases and other products on that wall. I can’t imagine what it looks like now.”

Nearby, a group of health spa employees huddled together, crying on a sidewalk as they watched their building burn.