Extensive Damage Reported In Venice Storage Facility Blaze

VENICE (CBSLA.com) — Los Angeles Fire Department crews say they were able to save most of the units at a Venice self-storage facility where a fire burned this weekend, but the damage is extensive.

It took hundreds of firefighters working in shifts for more than 12 hours to quench the flames at Extra Space Storage on Venice Boulevard. Eight firefighters were injured in the blaze that started Saturday evening.

Arson investigators were still on the scene Sunday evening, telling CBS2's Greg Mills that the investigation could last a few more days. They know that the fire started on the east side of the building, most likely on the second floor.

Meanwhile it is a frustrating situation for worried renters who came to the facility on Sunday afternoon to see if their possessions survived the blaze. They became more concerned Saturday night as they heard the number of firefighters called to the scene rise from 100 to 200 to 300.

"We had firefighter that were actually crawling on the ground and water was boiling underneath them," said LAFD Deputy Chief Joe Castro.

The way the building is constructed trapped heat inside like an oven. It is described as a metal roof on top of a concrete building. The units feature concrete walls with an open space at the top, which allowed the fire to spread between them.

Still, firefighters managed to save about two-thirds of the 700 units from fire damage. The first floor does not much fire damage, a spokesman said.

Renter David Epstein told Mills he rents two units in the building. He stores old business equipment and furniture there as well what he called "classic recording equipment."

"Some of it's valuable, period," said Epstein, who added that a district manager told him renters could get back into their units as soon as Monday or maybe later in the week.

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