Sept. 10--Two businesses were destroyed early Thursday after flames swept through a massive one-story commercial building in Van Nuys.
More than 160 firefighters battled the blaze that erupted about 12:11 a.m. in a large concrete building in the 14900 block of Calvert Street, said Brian Humphrey, spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Flames consumed the building, which houses reThink Environmental, an energy-efficient lighting and surfacing product company. As the building weakened from the fire's damage, firefighters were forced into a defensive attack.
Using hose lines, firefighters pumped heavy streams of water onto the building. But the flames spread west into KCK Industries, a healthcare and hygiene-product business.
It took firefighters a little more than two hours to put out the blaze. During the firefight, a fire captain who was struggling was examined and allowed to return to duty.
Investigators were trying to determine what caused the fire.
