Software Destroyed in Warehouse Fire
A furious blaze gutted a warehouse Monday, destroying at least $1 million of computer software and other equipment, authorities said.
No one was hurt in the early morning fire, but Encore Software, a computer game and educational CD-ROM maker that used the warehouse for assembly and packaging, estimated the loss at between $1 million and $2 million.
“Ninety percent of the existing [ready-to-ship] inventory was damaged and irreparable,” said Deborah Kazenelson, spokeswoman for the company. “We lost about 200,000 units.”
Police responding to a burglar alarm about 4:30 a.m. found the warehouse ablaze and alerted the El Segundo Fire Department, located a block and a half away.
“The first firefighters on the scene saw some CDs shooting out of the building,” said Fire Department spokesman Steve Tsumura. “Apparently they’re prepackaged, and the pressure kind of shot them out of their containers.”
The building’s roof collapsed within about 10 minutes. Los Angeles County firefighters and teams from seven nearby South Bay cities were called in to help contain the blaze.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
It took until about 8 a.m. to extinguish the flames, but firefighters prevented the fire from spreading to other structures.
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