(The Center Square) – One of Pasadena’s largest structure fires in years struck Wednesday evening at General Motors’ Advanced Design Center.
About 100 firefighters and a hazardous materials team responded to the four-alarm blaze, various media reported. Lithium-ion batteries and prototype vehicles were involved in the fire, according to preliminary reports.
Concept cars were burned, CBS Los Angeles reported. The CBS outlet reported its SkyCal helicopter flew over the facility, where there was a large layer of smoke. CBS said no flames were visible from the air.
Authorities said the fire started around 5:45 p.m. at the 149,000-square-foot three-building, $70 million-plus campus, which is in the 600 block of Sierra Madre Villa Avenue. Lisa Derderian, a spokeswoman for the city of Pasadena, said firefighters spent over an hour looking for the fire’s source. She added a fire captain who sent out a mayday call was rescued. The captain was uninjured.
The Pasadena Fire Department advised people to avoid the area in a post at 7:29 p.m. Wednesday on X. Roads in the area were closed.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Cleanup is expected to take several days.
