Los Angeles Firefighters arrived quickly to find heavy smoke showing from the rear of a small one-story single family home. Forcing entry through the building's front security door, firefighters aggressively tackled flames that had taken hold of the kitchen area of the 800 square foot residence.
In their simultaneous access and search from the rear of the smoke charged structure, firefighters discovered and swiftly rescued a critically injured older woman suffering from severe smoke inhalation. Provided with immediate medical care at the scene, she was transported in grave condition to the Los Angeles County - USC Medical Center.
The bulk of the fire was confined to the kitchen and extinguished in just 15 minutes.
No other injuries were reported.
Though the home was fitted with security doors and the windows had security bars, there were no obvious non-fire factors to impede the woman's egress. While one smoke alarm was discovered in the hallway of the 103-year old wood-frame home, its functional status and role at the time of the fire could not be immediately determined.
The dwelling was not equipped with residential fire sprinklers.
Monetary loss from the fire is still being tabulated, and the cause of the blaze remains under active investigation.
Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department
发表评论