Old courthouse building burns in LA’s Glassell Park neighborhood

It happened Saturday evening in the 1100 block of North San Fernando Road.

Sep 22, 2024 - 07:00

Old courthouse building burns in LA’s Glassell Park neighborhood

LOS ANGELES — Flames destroyed a former courthouse building in the Glassell Park area of Los Angeles on Saturday.

The fire was first reported at 5:55 p.m. Saturday at 1158 N. San Fernando Road, just east of the Los Angeles River, according to the Los Angeles fire Department’s Margaret Stewart. The area is east of the 5 Freeway and north of the 110 Freeway.

The fire at the 20,000-square-feet structure grew to Major Emergency status at 6:16 p.m., with more than 100 firefighters taking up defensive positions outside the building to prevent flames from spreading elsewhere, Stewart said.

The flames were out at 6:37 p.m. but the building was deemed structurally unstable and LAFD heavy equipment operators were summoned to make sure the building was torn down safely, she said. The process of tearing down the building and putting out flare-ups was expected to take all night.

No injuries were reported and a two-story building next to the destroyed courthouse was protected from damage, Stewart said.

Per protocol, arson investigators were sent to the scene.

Information on what caused the fire wasn’t immediately available.

A mental health courthouse previously operated at that site.

The Daily News contributed to this story.