Two firefighters were injured Saturday morning in a three-alarm blaze at a strip mall in North Long Beach, fire officials said.

Long Beach Fire Department personnel were dispatched around 4:28 a.m. to the 5600 block of Atlantic Avenue after someone in the area reported seeing fire coming from the strip mall.

Upon arrival, fire crews witnessed heavy smoke and flames coming from one of the buildings, prompting them to go into defensive mode.

“Due to the significant exposure risk of neighboring buildings, we updated to a third-alarm fire,” LBFD spokesperson Brian Fisk said.

Dozens of firefighters worked to quickly extinguish the flames, but the building was still severely damaged, officials said.

“It was almost a total loss,” Fisk said.

Two firefighters talk as a smaller fire breaks out behind them Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. Photo by Fernando Haro.

At least two firefighters were injured battling the flames and were transported to a local hospital, Fisk said. The cause or severity of their injuries was not immediately known.

The area of Atlantic Avenue between South and 55th Streets was closed for several hours as fire crews completed an overhaul in which they checked for any possible smoldering.

An investigation into the source of the fire is underway.

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