It took nearly 120 Los Angeles firefighters more than 90 minutes to fully extinguish intense flames that damaged several Mar Vista businesses late Sunday morning.

Forcing entry into several of the businesses, it was soon evident to firefighters that the well-entrenched flames had spread through the shared attic of the entire 9,000 square-foot building

Despite a vigorous offense by scores of firefighters, the conflagration and its effect upon the structure, forced a well-coordinated transition to defensive tactics 34 minutes into the battle.

Promptly accounting for all 119 personnel on the fireground, Assistant Chief Armando Hogan coordinated twenty-two minutes of strategic defensive operations, before returning his LAFD crews into a final and insurmountable offense that had all visible flame extinguished just 95 minutes after the fire was first reported.

There were no injuries

Fire loss to Rustic Kitchen Market and Cafe, L.A. Hardwood Floors, Roma Specialty Pizza, The Learning Path, West Coast Pool Supply, The Thai Boxing Institute, and Centinela Cleaners is still being tabulated. The cause of this major emergency fire remains under active investigation.

Dispatched Units: E62 E59 E263 T63 RA63 RA19 E294 T94 BC4 E63 E43 E2 E67 E295 T95 E269 T69 E226 T26 CM42 EM9 BC9 E5 T3 E203 UR3 HR3 UR88 BC1 E3 T37 E237 E26 T21 E221 SQ21 RA59 BC10 RA62 EA1 AR2 CM52 PH1 T5 E205 E37 E10 T64 E264 AR9 AR17 T61 E261