Fire at Venice storage facility injures eight, causes heavy damage

A fire burned so fiercely through a Venice storage facility over the weekend that it injured eight firefighters and boiled runoff from water sprayed on the blaze. On Sunday, customers were left to wonder about the extent of the damage and what remained of their possessions.

An ongoing investigation and cleanup at Extra Space Storage kept the anxiety level high for scores of customers — including one artist whose unit was crammed with paintings, and the last romantic partner of George Carlin, who had stored many of the comedian’s notes, letters and memorabilia in rows of neatly labeled boxes.

Authorities said it would be Monday at the earliest before customers could enter the 81,000-square-foot building and see what survived. Los Angeles Fire Department officials said about one-third of the building suffered heavy damage.

Sally Wade, a writer and performer who lived with Carlin for 10 years before his 2008 death, said she had treasured mementos in the facility. “I had notebooks, cards, audio of us working on sketches together. All this priceless stuff,” she said. “You can’t replace things like that.”

Wade said she had moved most of her belongings into the storage unit during a remodel of her Venice home. “So much is there. It’s like waiting to hear if my house has burned down,” she said. Her family home had burned when she was a teenager, she said. “I know what it’s like to lose absolutely everything.”

Carlin’s daughter, Kelly, said that she fortunately had moved the bulk of her father’s archives, gathered over a half-century in show business, out of the same facility a few years ago. She described herself as “heartbroken” at the prospect of Wade’s loss.

Others anxiously seeking information about the damage Sunday included artist David Quadrini. He said he heard a commotion Saturday night, but figured it was normal neighborhood activity — a police helicopter overhead, a fight outside a local bar.

Quadrini said he kept much of his own work, and a collection of other artists’ creations, in the storage facility.

“It’s scary,” he said. “But I am a pretty optimistic person, so I am hopeful it’s all going to be there.”

The fire, east of Abbot Kinney Boulevard, broke out at 7:37 p.m. The structure’s steel roof, limited ventilation and lack of sprinklers allowed the flames to spread and caused temperatures to soar, said Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.

About 365 firefighters eventually responded, with five of the eight injured firefighters hospitalized for minor burns and heat exhaustion. All were released.

Humphrey said the blaze was particularly challenging because the building’s metal roof made it difficult to vent the fire. Firefighters had to use diamond-tipped rotary power saws to cut through metal doors and locks to get inside burning units.

Quadrini said he planned to move some of his art out of the unit to Austin, Texas, as part of a show at a gallery at the University of Texas. The title of the exhibition: “Drawing the Apocalypse.”

james.rainey@latimes.com