Four-alarm blaze hits General Motors campus in Pasadena

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Editor's note: This story has been updated since its initial publication.

(The Center Square) – A concept car caught fire Wednesday evening at General Motors’ Advanced Design Center in Pasadena.

The fire did not spread to other vehicles or the building itself, a General Motors spokesperson told The Center Square. The spokesperson said the fire was extinguished within two hours.

"We’re grateful that all employees and first responders are safe and accounted for. The isolated fire was contained to a single design concept vehicle and did not spread to any other vehicles, design concepts, or the building itself," the spokesperson told The Center Square. "We thank the responding fire departments for their swift action in extinguishing the fire." 

Multiple fire crews responded to the four-alarm blaze, the spokesperson said.

CBS Los Angeles reported its SkyCal helicopter flew over the facility, where there was a large layer of smoke. CBS said no flames were visible from the air.

Authorities said the fire started around 5:45 p.m. at the 149,000-square-foot three-building, $70 million-plus campus, which is in the 600 block of Sierra Madre Villa Avenue. Lisa Derderian, a spokeswoman for the city of Pasadena, said firefighters spent over an hour looking for the fire's source. She added a fire captain who sent out a mayday call was rescued. The captain was uninjured.

The Pasadena Fire Department advised people to avoid the area in a post at 7:29 p.m. Wednesday on X. Roads in the area were closed.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Cleanup is expected to take several days.