Scores of TikTok workers rushed out of the company’s Culver City headquarters Wednesday afternoon after an electrical fire sent smoke and confusion through the seven-story office tower. The blaze was quickly extinguished, but power outages left some employees stranded in stalled elevators before rescuers got them out.
The fire began shortly after 2 p.m. at the building on Bristol Parkway, according to the Los Angeles Times, which cited Culver City Police Department spokesperson Jennifer Atenza. Police and firefighters evacuated the building immediately, while witnesses reported loud bangs and a sudden loss of power.
Firefighters traced the blaze to the first floor and knocked it down swiftly. A building engineer and Southern California Edison workers were assessing structural and electrical damage, and officials said there were no reported injuries or signs of arson.
Fire Hits TikTok’s Massive Culver City Office
The building houses TikTok’s U.S. headquarters and has room for roughly 1,000 employees across about 120,000 square feet of office space. TikTok moved its Los Angeles operations into five floors of the building in January 2020, in a high-profile expansion that included colorful murals, terraces, gathering areas and studios for creators.
That office was unveiled as a major Silicon Beach foothold in a 2020 company announcement, which described the workspace as a five-floor creative hub designed to support TikTok’s growing U.S. team. For workers returning after the evacuation, however, the immediate concern was considerably less glamorous: whether the building’s power, elevators and electrical systems are safe to use.
Officials had not announced when the office would fully reopen as of Thursday. The assessment of the building and its electrical systems will likely determine whether TikTok employees can return normally or face another day of remote work after the unexpected fire.
