Police discovered a fire at about 3:30 am at a business on East Park Ave. and Long Beach Blvd. The four-alarm fire spread through the row of businesses on the block as if no walls existed between them. The business did have walls separating them, but did not have fire breaks. A total of nine businesses were lost to the fire including a bank, a clothing store, a shoe store, and a retail investment business.

A total of 16 fire departments responded to the blaze, which caused windows to blow out and the roof to collapse. It took four hours to fully contain the fire. A near-by apartment complex was evacuated as a precaution. It is not certain if the apartments were damaged or not.

FireFightingNews.com reports civilians were not injured as a result of the fire and fire fighters only suffered minor injuries. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

To ensure business continuity, businesses should always have a fire disaster plan. The best way to reduce fire damage is to prevent it. Businesses should evaluate what may cause a fire in the building and eliminate that hazard. Prevention also includes taking steps to protect items should the worst happen. This may come in the form of purchasing a fire and waterproof safe to protect important documents.

Learn more about how one can prepare a fire safety plan for their own business.