Fire Destroys Businesses at Mini-Mall

An early morning blaze believed to have started in an Italian restaurant destroyed several businesses Monday, but firefighters saved many more.

No one was seriously injured in the fire, although tragedy was narrowly averted when a second-story floor collapsed 10 feet in front of the point where three firefighters were battling the blaze, said Capt. Steve Ruda, spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Ruda said Capt. Jack Reiss heard a rumbling in the smoke-filled structure and instinctively halted his crew. Seconds later the floor fell through.

“It was a close call,” Ruda said.

Two other firefighters suffered minor injuries, Ruda said. One was treated at the scene and continued fighting the fire, he said. The other twisted his back while helping set up a ladder and was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

The fire started shortly after 5 a.m. in Volare, a restaurant in a mini-mall at the intersection of Tampa Avenue and Rinaldi Street, Ruda said.

The cause of the blaze had not yet been determined, Ruda said. Arson investigators were called to the scene, a standard practice in business fires of unknown origin.

Response to the fire snarled the morning commute for motorists trying to reach the nearby Ronald Reagan Freeway.

Although no mall tenants were hurt in the fire, many suffered irreplaceable losses.

“I’ve been in business 30 years. I had a lot of memorabilia on my wall--paintings, awards,” said Jim Moreland, surveying the charred shell of a building that used to house his advertising firm. “It’s all gone now.”

Like many other business owners, he paced back and forth in the parking lot, a cell phone pressed to his ear, trying to reach his insurance company.

“I’m still waiting to hear from them,” he said.

Dan Medina said firefighters managed to save two key components of his video production business--an expensive editing machine and a computer server--but that he didn’t know whether the devices could be salvaged.

Even if they could, he said, several master copies of his earlier productions, including a documentary on gangs that he said won an Emmy, were melted in the fire. Also destroyed, he said, was footage for upcoming productions.

“It’s sort of like going back to the newsroom and trying to write your article without a computer,” he said.

Medina, 44, of Porter Ranch, said his home and business--then located in North Hills--were severely damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

But Medina said he’s not ready to call it quits in L.A.

“Are you kidding?” he said. “Not a chance.”

Other businesses in the L-shaped mall were saved from serious damage by firefighters’ efforts.

Ruda said firefighters made a stand near the intersection where the structure turns from an east-to-west to north-to-south direction. They cut a hole in the roof, allowing some of the heat and noxious gas to escape, and making it possible to aggressively battle the blaze.

Serious fire damage was limited to the east/west portion of the mall where the primary tenants were the restaurant, a mortgage firm and a medical group, said Brian Humphrey, a Fire Department spokesman.

Some other businesses in the 60,000-square-foot mall suffered smoke and water damage, Humphrey said. Several more were unscathed. A damage estimate was not yet available, Humphrey said.