by Garth Meyer
A Saturday, July 29, structure fire at Hydro Cleaners, next to Petco on north PCH, sent out billowing smoke, stopping highway traffic across the parking lot, before Redondo Beach firefighters ended the blaze in 12 minutes.
Arriving on scene in three minutes after a 1:45 p.m. call, according to RBFD Interim Chief Patrick Butler, firefighters went to the roof with a chainsaw and cut slits, so the flames would escape upward, instead of horizontal through a common attic of the strip of businesses.
To one side, smoke entered Petco, for which employees, customers – and pets – were evacuated, and similarly for the nail salon adjacent to the cleaners.
“Heavy smoke came out of the cleaners and the nail salon,” said Butler. “It was a pretty stubborn fire.”
A cinderblock wall between Petco and Hydro Cleaners kept the flames at bay to that side.
One RBFD firefighter suffered minor burns to his ears due to the heat of the blaze. The three-member Redondo Beach Fire Department fire investigation team is now at work to decipher the cause. A report is expected next week.
“At this point, we don’t have any information to indicate that it is suspicious,” said Butler.
In other news, a detached garage caught fire Tuesday evening, Aug. 8, in the 1800 block of Kingsdale Avenue, near the South Bay Galleria. Chief Butler reported that follow-up investigation is underway. ER
