By Ricardo Roura
Dec 26, 2024, 9:33 PM EST
A fire declared a “major emergency” destroyed this Thursday part of a historic building more than 100 years old that once housed the Morrison Hotelsite where the photo shoot for the cover of the group The Doors’ fifth album was done, in downtown Los Angeles.
Due to the magnitude of the conflagration, the work of more than 100 elements of the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) to contain the fire in just over an hour and a half.
The accident broke out a couple of minutes before 11:00 am at the structure located at 1246 South Hope Street, at the intersection with West Pico Boulevardwhere intense flames and a thick column of smoke rising into the sky were observed.
Keep reading: Fatal fire claims life of rich man in Los Angeles
The intensity of the flames prompted the response of 17 fire stationsaccording to an LAFD news alert, and later reported that the firefight had lasted for one hour and 37 minutes.
Firefighters placed ladders on fire exits to help evacuate several dozen homeless people that were inside the building.
The authorities no injuries reported as a result of this incident.
Keep reading: AutoZone on fire causes damage to nearby businesses in Hollywood
The building, 110 years old and currently unoccupiedwas once the Morrison Hotel, made famous by the February 1970 photo for the cover of the fifth album by the rock group The Doors, led by Jim Morrison.
An announcement was made a year ago that the building was going to be converted into an affordable housing complex for homeless people after was purchased by AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
“The building, which was empty for more than 15 years, It was a frequent training location for the Los Angeles Fire Departmentwhich gave crews the advantage of being able to quickly navigate the structure,” LAFD spokeswoman Margaret Stewart said in a news release.
Keep reading: Firefighter injured after explosion in homeless camp fire in Los Angeles
The department said firefighters walked through the building and located an intense, well-developed fire on the fourth level that had broken through the roof, which caused the commander’s decision to move to a defensive operation.
After extinguishing the flames, fire crews were expected to remain on site overnight Thursday to guarantee public safety and that there are no more fire outbreaks.
The burned building is marked with a red tagwith weakness in its structure, so it was not safe for LAFD members to enter to completely extinguish the remaining fire sources.
Keep reading: Jeep is doused with gasoline and set on fire during illegal street takeover in Hyde Park
The authorities recommended that drivers Avoid the Hope Street and Pico Boulevard areain downtown Los Angeles.
The LAFD remains on course an investigation to find the cause that started the fire and, as soon as the situation is safe, K-9 units, which can detect human remains, will enter the building to ensure that no one is inside.
Keep reading:
· 5 firefighters hospitalized after fire in building with illegal marijuana operation in Los Angeles
· Tesla bursts into flames after falling from an overpass onto Freeway 134 in Griffith Park
· Nine Los Angeles firefighters are injured in a truck explosion with compressed gas tanks