Smoke pours out of Hot Stuff, a novelty shop on Broadway near Alamitos Beach. Photo by Max Estrada.
Smoke pours out of Hot Stuff, a novelty shop on Broadway near Alamitos Beach. Photo by Max Estrada.

A large fire Friday morning blackened the inside of Hot Stuff, a Long Beach novelty shop that’s been near the border of Alamitos Beach for decades.

The flames started around 3:54 a.m., prompting dozens of firefighters to rush to the blaze. They forced their way into the shop to get at the flames, according to Long Beach Fire Capt. Jack Crabtree.

A fire destroyed much of the merchandise inside Hot Stuff, a long-standing novelty shop near Alamitos Beach. Photo by Jeremiah Dobruck.
A fire destroyed much of the merchandise inside Hot Stuff, a long-standing novelty shop near Alamitos Beach. Photo by Jeremiah Dobruck.

At the height of the fire, 45 firefighters were battling the blaze, he said. It took almost half an hour to douse the flames, according to Crabtree.

The interior of Hot Stuff was severely blackened afterward.

Firefighters were still outside Hot Stuff hours after the fire was doused Friday morning. Photo by Jeremiah Dobruck.
Firefighters were still outside Hot Stuff hours after the fire was doused Friday morning. Photo by Jeremiah Dobruck.

Crabtree said firefighters were able to keep the blaze from spreading to any next-door business in the Broadway strip mall—although they did suffer some smoke damage.

Hot Stuff has been in the strip mall near Bixby Park for years. It sells everything from greeting cards and candles to sex toys and condoms, according to its website.

Crabtree said investigators don’t know yet what caused the fire.

The fire blackened most of the inside of Hot Stuff. Photo by Jeremiah Dobruck.
The fire blackened most of the inside of Hot Stuff. Photo by Jeremiah Dobruck.

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Jeremiah Dobruck is executive editor of the Long Beach Post where he oversees all day-to-day newsroom operations. In his time working as a journalist in Long Beach, he’s won numerous awards for his investigative reporting and editing. Before coming to the Post in 2018, he wrote for publications including the Press-Telegram, Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times. Reach him at [email protected] or @jeremiahdobruck on Twitter.