A fire on June 3 in the remnants of a two-story strip mall in east Hollywood that had previously been damaged by a 2017 blaze reduced the structure to rubble.

photo by Edwin Folven

Firefighters were called to the vacant building at the southwest corner of Fountain and Vermont avenues at approximately 4:40 a.m. and found flames threatening to spread to an occupied apartment building next door. The fire was classified as a major emergency, a categorization the fire department uses to bring in resources from multiple fire stations to battle a blaze. Approximately 120 firefighters primarily contained the flames to the vacant strip mall, with some damage to the exterior of eight units in an apartment building next door. The fire was extinguished by 5:52 a.m. and the cause remained under investigation as of Wednesday.

No residents of the apartment building next door were injured, but 15 people were displaced and the American Red Cross assisted them with finding temporary housing. One firefighter sustained a hip injury, was hospitalized in good condition and is recovering. The amount of loss and damage was not available.

A fire previously erupted on March 12, 2017, in a café and hookah lounge on the second floor of the strip mall. Investigators at that time did not believe foul play was involved.

The strip mall closed permanently after the blaze. The damaged building was fenced but a portion of the structure remained until the latest blaze. On Monday, charred building materials remained at the site, but there was no other evidence that a two-story structure was once present.