Second-Alarm Fire Rips Through Hyde Park Strip Mall

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Business owners in a Hyde Park strip mall are vowing to make a comeback after fire ripped through their businesses early Thursday.

A fire broke out at about 12:30 a.m. in a strip mall in the 3800 block of West Slauson Avenue. It took an hour for more than 100 firefighters to put out the second-alarm blaze.

The flames appeared to have originated from Eco Green Dry Cleaners before spreading to an adjacent hair salon and barbershop.

Manuel Fabian, the owner of Eco Green Dry Cleaners, was at a loss for words as he watched his business burn. He said he left the business at 8 p.m., making sure everything was turned off as he usually does. Amid the sopping and charred clothes being pulled out his storefront, he asked his customers to have patience in the aftermath of the fire.

"We're going to come back again," Fabian said.

Cheryl Corbin, who owns the salon next door to Eco Green Dry Cleaners, said she came to the scene as soon as she heard about the fire, but even when she was told to go home and return in the daytime, she could not sleep.

"Most of my things didn't get burnt, so I'm glad about that," she said. "But there's also seven of us, seven of the operators, and all of the things were just damaged or demolished."

A total of five businesses were damaged by the fire. Authorities say the fire scene investigation was hampered by a partial roof collapse, and large air conditioning equipment that was precariously suspended from the roof of the structure.

"Sad situation, but nobody was hurt – just a bunch of material things that can be replaced," Corbin said.

The Los Angeles County sheriff's arson explosives detail detectives say there are no indications that the fire was intentionally set, but the investigation is ongoing.

(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)