Firefighters respond to flames and explosions at a downtown LA store – NBC Los Angeles

Witnesses reported violent explosions in a vacant building in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday, following a fire that sent thick smoke across the area.

The fire and explosions were reported around 2 p.m. in the 600 block of South Kohler Street. Firefighters protected an adjacent three-story apartment building from the blaze, which sent thick plumes of smoke over downtown LA and the Skid Row neighborhood.

“Bystanders reported there were explosions and described them as multiple explosions … with fireballs rising into the air,” said LAFD Captain Erik Scott.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMGEu0HCvy4

Scott said the building was empty, but it appeared there were pressure vessels inside. What the vessels were used for was not immediately clear.

Firefighters sprayed water from at least three turntable ladders on the building, whose roof had apparently collapsed.

There were no reports of injuries. Details about the cause and nature of the accident were not immediately available.