An aerial view of the fire that destroyed a manufacturing complex and an adjoining pallet yard on South Gramercy Place in Hyde Park Monday.

HYDE PARK An investigation was under way to determine what sparked a spectacular blaze that rapidly consumed a manufacturing complex and a pallet yard Monday.

The fire at 6236 S. Gramercy Place was reported about 2:15 p.m. and took 183 firefighters nearly three hours to put out, Los Angeles Fire Department spokeswoman d Lisa Davies said.

It started in a commercial building, Davies said. Firefighters fought it for 10 minutes before they pulled out. Because of the radiant heat, anything combustible started to self-ignite, and [an adjacent] pallet yard was one of them.

Firefighters quickly went into a defensive mode, pulling out from the interior of the one-story complex and battling the rapidly growing flames from the exterior, she said.

One firefighter suffered heat-related injuries and another firefighter had a small cut to the right forearm, Davies said, adding that both were taken to a hospital.

A civilian was also treated at the scene for first- and second-degree burns to his arm, she said.

The fire, which quickly jumped from building to building, destroyed a vacant sound stage and M & M Auto Repair Yard, Davies added.

It was unclear what started the blaze, although a witness said he heard explosions coming from a business where chemicals were being mixed.

A damage estimate was not immediately available because so many offices and companies were involved, Davies said.