Hookah bar inside Hollywood strip mall goes up in flames

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (FOX 11 / CNS) - More than 100 firefighters battled a noninjury fire that damaged a two-story strip mall today in Hollywood, and arson was ruled out as the cause.

The fire was reported at 4:27 a.m. at 4659 W. Fountain Ave. in a hookah store and lounge on the second floor, said Margaret Stewart of the Los Angeles Fire Department. The flames were knocked down in 51 minutes.

The cause was listed as "undetermined but not suspicious in nature,'' Stewart said. A damage estimate was not immediately available.

The hookah store and lounge was red-tagged, and the businesses on the first floor were yellow-tagged, Stewart said.

The fire spread to multiple units and through the facade of the structure.

Stewart said firefighters successfully protected the four-story apartment building immediately behind the strip mall.

No injuries were reported.

The intersection of Fountain and Vermont avenues was closed for the investigation and arson units were summoned to the scene, Stewart said.

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