L.A. County firefighters battle stubborn Bellflower storage facility blaze

A fire that tore through a Bellflower storage facility on Tuesday continued to smolder into the night as firefighters remained at the scene extinguishing stubborn spot fires that continually flared amid the rubble.

Crews were initially called at 2:35 p.m. to a fire at the storage facility on Ibbetson Avenue between East Plunkett and Cedar streets, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

A third alarm was called shortly before 4 p.m., bringing more than 85 firefighters to the scene, the department said.

No injuries were reported and firefighters were able to keep the flames confined to the storage facility, said Inspector Henry Narvaez, a Fire Department spokesman.

The facility is located next to a home, car wash and a large apartment complex, Narvaez said.

“They did a great job in saving the business, and the home and apartments,” he said.

Speaking shortly before 9 p.m. — more than six hours since the first units arrived — Narvaez told The Times that the layout and nature of the building presented a challenge.

Because the building is a storage facility, there are many smaller units inside the main structure, any one of which could contain flammable material, he said.

“We can’t get inside to get to where some of the smaller fires are shooting up,” Narvaez said.

Crews are continuing with an aerial attack, using ladder apparatuses to rain down up to 1,000 gallons of water a minute onto the fire until it is officially knocked down, he said. As of late Tuesday, firefighters remained on a defensive fire attack.

It’s not known how the fire broke out at the one-story, 4,000-square-foot facility.