Blaze guts Burbank commercial building

A fire destroyed a commercial building near downtown Burbank Tuesday evening, but firefighters were able to keep the blaze from spreading to an adjacent auto repair shop.

No injuries were reported in the two-alarm fire that, at one point, forced firefighters to retreat from the roof not long before it collapsed.

Burbank and Glendale firefighters also fell back from the building at San Fernando Boulevard and Santa Anita Avenue after they discovered an unknown flammable liquid “pouring out the doors,” said Burbank Fire Capt. Ron Bell. Hazmat crews called to the scene said it could have been scented oils for candles, he added.

Officials initially described the masonry building as an import-export business.

No one was inside the building when firefighters arrived at the scene, Bell said. Firefighters responded to reports of flames coming from the roof about 6:42 p.m.

The potential cause of the fire remains under investigation as fire crews remained on the scene after the blaze was extinguished shortly after 8 p.m.

“It’s going to be a total loss, I’m sure,” Bell said.

Though the shop was not built according to current fire codes, an adjacent auto repair shop was saved in part by a modern fire protection wall, officials said.

Dozens of onlookers gathered in the street as firefighters shot water onto the gutted building while suspended on ladders from above. Fire crews continued to douse the rubble with water and foam even after the flames were extinguished.

No estimate on the damage caused by the fire was available Tuesday night.