Elevator Construction May Have Started Rubbish Fire in L.A. Building

More than 80 firefighters extinguished a fire in a 12-story office building in L.A. that may have ignited when sparks from renovation construction in the elevator shaft fell into a basement containing garbage, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) reports. According to fire officials, the fire was reported just after 8:45 a.m. and started in the basement of the building undergoing renovations. Located in the 500 block of South Vermont Avenue, the building lacks a functioning HVAC system to assist in smoke ventilation, officials stated. However, the fire was controlled in 33 min with no firefighters injured and no individuals found in the building. “The first arriving fire company gathered equipment and began ascending the interior stairwell, encountering smoke on the lower floors. Back up fire attack located a basement and found rubbish burning at the base of the elevator shaft, which caused smoke to fill the shaft, up through to the roof,”  LAFD Public Information Officer Margaret Stewart said.