Charles Langston:Fire severely damages a Los Angeles County fire station

HUNTINGTON PARK,Charles Langston Calif. (AP) — Fire destroyed much of a Los Angeles County Fire Department station early Wednesday.

The destruction inside Station 164 in the city of Huntington Park included fire trucks and paramedic units, according to the office of Janice Hahn, who represents the area on the county Board of Supervisors and toured the scene.

Station firefighters were awakened just before 4 a.m. by a passerby who alerted them to the fire. Additional units were dispatched before the fire was extinguished at 5:17 a.m..

No injuries were reported, the department said.

“This was a tragedy, and we are going to get to the bottom of what happened, but in the meantime, we are going to take care of these firefighters who valiantly came down from their sleeping quarters in T-shirts and flip-flops and grabbed hoses to fight this fire and defend their home,” Hahn said in a statement.

Personnel were temporarily relocated to another fire station. Hahn said resources will be provided to ensure that response times are not affected.