Up in flames
"Sound of Philadelphia" record label office burns
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame songwriters/producers Leon Huff and Kenneth Gamble are devastated, after a fire broke out at “Sound of Philadelphia”— the office of their record label Philadelphia International Records (PIR).
The fire is suspected to have begun on the third floor of the building where the recording studios and numerous pieces of irreplaceable memorabilia—such as awards and gold and platinum records—are located.
Huff and Gamble expect that they have lost at least 40% of their awards and their personan inventory of CDs by music greats such as Michael Jackson and Teddy Pendergrass.
The damage to the building is extensive, but Huff and Gamble are adamant about rebuilding the facility.
“Our space has been violated by someone who chose to set fire to it,” said Gamble and Huff in a joint statement. “But what’s most important is that we will build it again and continue to rebuild. Nothing is going to stop us.”
The music duo is thankful that the third-floor studio where they created so many hit songs, suffered the least damage and may still be salvageable.
Officials say the fire was suspicious, but so far there have been no suspects identified or any arrests.
Returning to the same location where its sausage-making facility had burned to the ground in July 2010, Far West Meats has resumed full production of its smoked sausage and meats in Southern California.
For more than 85 years the company has been a local manufacturer, making easily identifiable products that can be found in distinctive multi-colored window boxes in markets throughout area. The product lineup includes beef sausage (hot and mild), Louisiana (hot and mild), chicken (hot and mild) and the new “Red Hots.”
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A fire burned today in a church in South Los Angeles, a city fire official said.
The fire was reported at 4:18 p.m. at Galilee Baptist Church located at 3220 W 48th St., near Crenshaw High School, said Erik Scott of the Los Angeles Fire Department.
Rescuers arriving at the location reported the two-story building was engulfed in flames, Scott said.
"(Firefighters) quickly surrounded the building and are getting a good handle on (the) church fire,'' Scott said.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The owners of horses that have been kept at a condemned stable in the county’s Athens area—where a recent fire killed two horses, a pony and a goat—have been given more time to relocate their animals, officials said today.
The fire broke out about 11:25 p.m. June 17 at the stable near 131st and Figueroa streets, and appeared to have been sparked accidentally, according to a preliminary investigation by the sheriff’s department.
LANCASTER, Calif.—Sheriff's deputies confirmed that firefighters found the body of a woman inside a two-story home in the Quartz Hill section of Lancaster after a fire brought under control.
The fire was reported at 5:15 p.m. Sunday in the 42000 block of 56th Street West, Supervisor Michael Pittman of the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.
The blaze was under control by 5:26 p.m.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, said the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.
A fast-moving fire in the attic of a one-story strip mall that houses the Our Weekly offices caused damage to two businesses early Saturday morning, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. The fire, reported at 3:56 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3, brought 119 Los Angeles firefighters to 8720 S. Western Ave. in South Los Angeles, where they discovered heavy smoke billowing from a liquor store at the north end of a five-tenant row of businesses that shared a common attic.
