Los Angeles Fire Department units swarmed a mixed-use building in Silver Lake just after 1 a.m. Monday after moderate to heavy smoke began pouring from the ground-floor Target store at 609 N. Dillon St., forcing evacuations of apartment units stacked above the retail space. Everyone made it out safely, and no injuries were reported.
Firefighters found smoke billowing from the Target on the building's first level, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. As ABC7 Los Angeles reported, crews confirmed the flames stayed contained to the commercial portion of the structure and did not spread to the residential floors above. No details on what sparked the fire had been released.
Crews brought the fire under control within 35 minutes of the initial 911 call, successfully keeping it confined to the first-floor Target, according to MyNewsLA.com. That rapid containment likely kept the incident from becoming far more serious for the dozens of households living directly above the store.
A Newer Building With Nearly 50 Units at Stake
The property, known as The Dillon II at Silver Lake, was built in 2022 as a three-story mixed-use development with apartment units sitting above ground-floor retail, per RentCafe. The complex represents a dense, small-format retail-residential design suited to tight urban neighborhoods.
Such layouts commonly use fire-rated walls and doors to help limit the spread of fire, per Spectrum Fire Protection. Mixed-use buildings almost always need automatic sprinklers throughout, the source says.
Store Also Saw a Major Theft Arrest Earlier This Year
The same Target location was also referenced elsewhere in coverage of an earlier incident. The site falls within Los Angeles city limits.
Overnight structure fires remain a persistent challenge for the department citywide. Structure fires continue to place steady demands on the city's firefighting resources.
What exactly ignited the fire inside the Target store, the extent of smoke or water damage to the retail space, and when displaced residents will be cleared to return to their apartments all remain open questions as the investigation continues.
