Photo courtesy of Marlo Miller.

A garage fire in an alleyway that spread to a residential unit has displaced an unknown amount of people after Long Beach Fire Department (LBPD) officers successfully extinguished the flames tonight near the 1300 block of Cherry Ave.

According to Brian Fisk of the LBPD, reports of a detached, three-garage structure being on fire came in around 6:10PM tonight. By the time the first LBFD unit had arrived, the fire communicated to the residential structure next to it.

A total of five engines and a truck were needed to exterminate the fire. The higher-than-usual amount of engines was due to a multitude of access problems. The flames had burned overhead wires in the alleyway, causing live electric wires to impede access while increasing danger. Additionally, an illegally converted living space was discovered that further impeded the firefighter’s ability to douse the flames.

No injuries were reported and the house had no residents inside while the flames burned. It is unclear what caused the fire and the situation remains under investigation.

We’ll report more information as it becomes available.

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