A late-night inferno tore through a long-vacant Lakewood restaurant Sunday, leveling the building and sending a Los Angeles County firefighter to the hospital with what officials described as a minor medical emergency. Crews rushed to the 5800 block of Lakewood Boulevard near South Street just after 11 p.m., battling flames into the early morning before finally knocking the fire down. The injured firefighter is expected to make a full recovery as investigators dig into what sparked the blaze.
The third alarm pulls in crews from across the area
What started as a routine call escalated fast. Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke and flames pouring from the shuttered restaurant, prompting a quick second alarm, then a third alarm before midnight……