California Apparel News

Some 135 firefighters from the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to an early-morning blaze Friday that started in the second floor of a small commercial building across from the California Market Center in the downtown Los Angeles fashion district.

The fire, which started at about 2 a.m., completely engulfed Lyn Décor, located at 115 E. Ninth St., situated on the second floor above the CPC medical marijuana cooperative at 111. E. Ninth St. The fire burned through the roof of the building. Firefighters jettisoned Lyn Décor’s entire inventory, which stood in a blackened, wet heap covering two lanes of Ninth Street. It took firefighters 22 minutes to knock down the blaze, which is under investigation, officials said.

Damages were estimated to be $35,000 to the building and $50,000 worth of inventory. No injuries were reported, said Cody Weireter, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman.

The owner of Lyn Décor, who was talking with Har-Bro, a contractor hired to clear the charred inventory and store it behind the building for insurance investigators to examine, was too distraught to talk about the fire or give her name. She said she had been in the 3,000-square-foot space for about three years.

Some of the neighboring businesses suffered water and smoke damage. Next door, at 109 E. Ninth St., the owners of Lillet Restaurant, Robert Alahdadi and his son, Hibert Alahdadi, looked shell-shocked as they stood in the entryway to their decades-old eatery, which serves Middle Eastern food. “We have water damage,” Hibert said, looking at the sheets of plastic that covered the tables and chairs. A strong smell of smoke permeated the restaurant.

The CPC medical marijuana collective underneath Lyn Décor had some minor damage, said Julio Santillan, who works at the clinic. It was not open for business.

The Yaki Café at 113 E. Ninth St. was closed for business, but Roopa’s Brow Lounge, which only had a bit of water damage at its 107 E. Ninth St. location, was open.