An abandoned restaurant in Boyle Heights was engulfed in flames Sunday morning, sending plumes of thick black smoke high into the sunny Los Angeles sky. The fire broke out just after 10:30 a.m. at 320 South Soto Street, a detached one-story commercial building that was formerly home to a restaurant, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. In this article we talk about Empty Restaurant Engulfed in Flames in Los Angeles.
The building has sat vacant for an unknown period of time prior to Sunday’s blaze. This was not the structure’s first encounter with fire – it was previously damaged in another incident at some point in its history, officials said.
Firefighters Quickly Stop Big Fire
A total of 35 firefighters arrived on scene within minutes to battle the rapidly growing fire and had it fully extinguished by 10:45 a.m. – just 15 minutes after the first frantic 911 calls came in. Dramatic cell phone videos taken by witnesses and posted to social media showed bright orange flames engulfing the roof and back wall as thick smoke poured out of the building’s broken windows.
“When we pulled up on scene there was already heavy fire showing from the rear of the structure,” said LAFD Captain, one of the first firefighters to respond. “Given the intensity, we went straight into a defensive operation and surrounded the building to prevent further spread.”
Fast Action Saves Abandoned Restaurant from Major Damage
The strategy and rapid response proved effective, limiting damage to the abandoned restaurant building. No injuries were reported to either civilians or firefighters.
While the cause remains under active investigation, LAFD Captain said the history of previous fires likely meant there were abundant ignition sources inside the vacant building.
“Any time you have a vacant commercial building left unattended for an extended period, the potential for this type of fire eruption goes way up,” LAFD Captain. “We see these blazes more often than you might think.”
Safety Lessons from Sunday’s Restaurant Fire
Sunday’s restaurant fire serves as an important reminder about the importance of properly securing unused buildings against trespassing and maintaining functional fire detection and suppression systems. The property owner may face citations if code violations contributed to the destructive blaze.
The fire also impacted local traffic and area residents on Sunday morning. Soto Street was blocked for over an hour while firefighters battled the flames, with smoke visible for miles around.
“It was pretty crazy, just this huge cloud of nasty smoke right down the street from us,” said neighbor. “I feel bad for whoever owns that old restaurant building.”
Learning and Improving
While this particular abandoned building faced significant damage, the LAFD will use the incident to continue refining operations and response tactics for future vacant building fires. The rapid extinguishment and lack of injuries were positive signs, officials acknowledged, while underlying root causes still need to be addressed on a wider scale across at-risk neighborhoods in the city. I sincerely hope you find this “Empty Restaurant Engulfed in Flames in Los Angeles? What was the cause?” article helpful.