Employees flee fire inside TikTok headquarters in Culver City

Scores of employees rushed to evacuate from a seven-story office building in Culver City that houses TikTok’s U.S. headquarters after an electrical fire ignited Wednesday.

People in the building reported hearing loud bangs when the fire began, and some employees had to be rescued from elevators amid power outages, according to Culver City Police Department spokesperson Jennifer Atenza.

Culver City police and fire personnel responded to the fire at 5800 Bristol Parkway at 2:14 p.m. and immediately evacuated the building, she said.

The fire, which originated on the first floor of the building, was believed to have been caused by electrical issues. Firefighters were able to swiftly extinguish the blaze, while a building engineer and staff from Southern California Edison are continuing to assess structural damage and electrical issues.

There were no injuries reported or evidence of foul play, she said.

TikTok moved its Los Angeles-based operations into five floors of the building in January 2020. The 120,000-square-foot office space, featuring colorful murals and studios for content creators, has capacity for around 1,000 workers.

OnScene.TV contributed to this report.