AREA BUILDING DAMAGED IN BLAZE.

Byline: Orith Goldberg Staff Writer

RESEDA - A massive blaze that erupted in an office building damaged more than a dozen businesses including a San Fernando Valley bank.

The fire, reported at 6:10 p.m. Tuesday in the 18300 block of Sherman Way, spread from the second floor of the building to the attic, causing heavy damage to the second level and smoke and water damage to the first level, occupied by Wilshire State Bank.

More than 100 Los Angeles city firefighters responded to the blaze and aggressively worked to extinguish the fire in just under two hours, breaking the walls to go office to office because the heat in the halls was so intense, said Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.

Fire Chief Jimmy Hill estimated more than $100,000 in structural loss. The content loss had not yet been determined.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation, Hill said.

Sue Magidow, the manager of Wilshire State Bank, said she was receiving calls at her home from customers alerting her about the fire.

Magidow said she and other bank officials were discussing opening a temporary trailer to resume the bank's business, adding that the bank's documents were in fireproof areas.

``It's horrible, but you just go on,'' she said. ``We have customers to take care of.''

Shahin Safaradi, a part owner of the building and owner of Top Bargain, a business that occupies both the first and second stories of the building, said she was inside when the fire erupted.