On Thursday, June 23, 2011 at 2:35 PM, 6 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 5 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 1 EMS Battalion Captain, 1 Battalion Chief Officer Command Team, 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team and 49 Firefighters, all under the direction of Battalion Chief Manuel Lafarga, responded to a Chemical Investigation at 2250 East Alcazar Street in Lincoln Heights.

First arriving units were quick to gather as much information as was available at the USC Clinical Science Annex. It was discovered that the unidentified substance was isolated to one, single laboratory on the second floor of the two-story facility. The decision was then made by the Incident Commander to safely and quickly evacuate the entire building. However, there were 10 lab workers close enough in proximity to the spill, that warranted brief isolation from the lab. This task was carried-out by Firefighters who all made entry dressed in their appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE's). Subsequently, each of the 10 lab workers and another 14 building occupants (also on the floor at the time of the spill) received body scans with the Hazardous Material Squad's radiological detectors.

As an extra safety measure, a Decontamination Team was also put in place. Thankfully, there were no direct exposures to the spill, all detector readings were within normal limits and no occupants exhibited any signs or symptoms of illness or discomfort. Decontamination, therefore, was not required and all were eventually cleared and released at the scene.

The substance was deemed to be unharmful and of very small quantity (less than 2 ounces). After a meticulous sweep of the entire building and the processing of its occupants, the lab was sealed, the incident declared static and after three hours, was turned over to the Los Angeles County Health and Hazardous Materials Department as well as USC officials.

Adjacent occupancies, while alarmed because of the nature of the incident, were sheltered-in-place briefly, but were not affected due to the strategic management of the incident.

The incident is under investigation.

Submitted by Matt Spence, Spokesman Los Angeles Fire Department

READ MORE - Chemical Investigation at Science Annex

On Thursday, December 23, 2010 at 11:48 PM, 6 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 3 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Arson Unit, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 1 EMS Battalion Captain and 2 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, a total of 46 Los Angeles Fire Department personnel under the direction of Battalion Chief Kwame Cooper, responded to a Structure Fire at 172 South Clarence Street in Boyle Heights.

Los Angeles Firefighters arrived quickly to find heavy fire showing from the front door and side window of a one-story 711 square-foot single family home densely packed and surrounded with personal possessions.

As teams of firefighters fought their way through pack-rat conditions fueling intense flames within, other LAFD personnel provided medical attention to the home's sole occupant, a man who was able to escape the inferno with only minor smoke inhalation. Fire Department Paramedics were soon also examining a neighbor man who witnessed the fire, for possible smoke exposure.

Fueled by large amounts of combustible storage, the fire took quick hold of and all-but-consumed the attic and key structural elements of the small wood-frame home, as firefighters confined the blaze to the structure of origin, extinguishing the flames in just 34 minutes.

The homeowner and neighbor declined further medical treatment or transportation, and were released at the scene. No other injuries were reported.

The American Red Cross was summoned to provide shelter and human needs assistance to the displaced homeowner.

The presence, functional status and role of smoke alarms within the home could not be immediately determined. The compact 101 year-old building was not equipped with residential fire sprinklers.

Loss from the fire, which destroyed the residence, has been estimated at $90,000 ($75,000 structure & $15,000 contents). The cause of this late night blaze is categorized as "under investigation".


Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

READ MORE - Blaze Destroys Densely Packed Boyle Heights Home

On Wednesday, December 1, 2010 at 5:11 PM, 17 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 7 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 3 Arson Units, 2 Urban Search and Rescue Units, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 2 EMS Battalion Captains, 5 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, under the direction of Deputy Chief Mario Rueda responded to a Major Emergency Structure Fire at 1736 E LAS VEGAS ST. X PLEASANT Ave in Boyle Heights.
 
Firefighters arrived on scene to a two story multi-resident home with several separate occupancies under a duplex type construction. An LaCo. Fire Department Squad who was already close by, along with LAFD Personnel made a quick forcible entry through two of the structures metal clad doors to face heavy smoke and fire.

Firefighters had to knock down a bulk of the flames in order to reach the second story where it was reported that additional victims may still be trapped. Roof teams on the outside put up a 20 ft ladder, to rescue a 67 year old man who was hanging out of a smoke filled second story window. Personnel on the roof had the unusual operation of making a bridge spanning one duplex to the other in order to cut hole on an extremely steep pitched roof line.

The entire operation, from the knocked down of the fire, to the rescuing of all the building's occupants was successful. Thanks to the quick and decisive work of all the firefighters, 22 victims including one infant were displaced, but alive. Only the 67 year old male was treated and transported to an area hospital for minor injuries.

The American Red Cross was on hand to assist all those residents in need of help. Fire loss was estimated at $ 225.000 ($150.000 structure & $75.000 contents). The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.

Submitted by Devin Gales, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

READ MORE - Several Residents Displaced After Devastating Fire

On Sunday, October 31, 2010 at 11:42 PM, 8 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 9 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Heavy Rescue, 1 Urban Search and Rescue Unit, 2 EMS Battalion Captains and 2 Battalion Chief Officers under the direction of Assistant Chief Craig Fry responded to a Physical Rescue Traffic Collision at 2701 Cincinnati Street in Boyle Heights.

Los Angeles Fire Department resources responded to call where a driver of an SUV crashed into a structure with possible trapped victims. Upon arrival, firefighters discovered 1 vehicle which made its way approximately 6-8 feet into single family dwelling. A physical rescue assignment was quickly requested to extricate the victims.



Firefighters utilizing an assortment of tools, while commencing triage of the injured parties, were face with the task of trying to find all the victims in a crowd of people. Rescue crews soon discovered a fatality, a 19y/o female who was apparently in one of the bedrooms at the time of impact. One two week old infant, who was believed to have also been in the same room of impact, was treated and transported in critical condition to USC Medical Center. Four other were also treated and transported, a 61y/o female, 16y/o female, 12y/o female and a 3y/o male, all suffered minor injuries.

It is with great sadness to report that the two week old infant was later pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the medical center. The driver who was taken by LAPD, was later transported to an area hospital for evaluation.

It is still unclear as to what caused the driver to smash onto the side of a home on a residential street always leaving the question, how could something like this happen. With the prime focus now being on, medical care of the injured and emotional support to the victim’s families, an active investigation of the incident will be conducted by the Los Angeles Police Department.

This is a reminder to us all ,that a night of celebration can quickly turn into a night of loss, in the blink of a eye.

(photos)

Submitted by Devin Gales, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

READ MORE - Two Lives Lost After Vehicle Smashes into Boyle Heights Home

On Monday, October 25, 2010 at 3:22 PM, 13 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 14 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Heavy Rescue, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 2 Helicopters, 3 EMS Battalion Captains, 3 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams and 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, a total of 114 Los Angeles Fire Department personnel under the direction of Deputy Chief Mario Rueda, as well as Los Angeles Police and California Highway Patrol Officers, responded to a Multi-Patient Traffic Collision near 2332 East 1st Street in the Boyle Heights area of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Firefighters arrived quickly to discover a multi-vehicle collision in which one vehicle, an occupied full-sized school bus, had overturned.

As additional LAFD personnel were summoned, a swift triage effort was undertaken to assist and medically assess the school bus driver and as many as 50 teenage bus occupants from nearby Roosevelt High School, none of whom were trapped or had life-threatening injury.

One person found nearby however, and later determined to be a pedestrian, had sustained fatal injury and was declared dead at the scene.

A pair of young adult males from a sedan that reportedly struck the bus, were taken into police custody while receiving pre-hospital medical care, as Firefighter/Paramedics concurrently identified 18 students from the bus in need of non-emergency ambulance transport.

The eighteen students with minor injuries, and the school bus driver - in fair condition, were taken to eight regional hospitals that had been proactively alerted by LAFD responders. A pair of Los Angeles Fire Department air ambulance helicopters placed on stand-by at Roosevelt High School, proved not to be needed.

Using a dedicated Metro transit bus, firefighters not directly involved in caring for the injured coordinated swift and orderly transportation of as many as 30 students to the Hollenbeck Community Police Station, where a reunification center was established.

In the reunification center, City of Los Angeles Crisis Response Team volunteers continued the emotional support efforts established by firefighters, as parents and guardians were calmly reunited with the students.

Despite earlier declarations of non-injury, two students at the reunification center complained of acute pain, and were taken with parental concurrence to area hospitals, bringing the total ambulance transported patient count to 23 (1 bus driver, 18 student bus riders from the incident site, 2 young males from the sedan in custody, and later 2 student bus riders from the reunification center).

No other injuries were reported.

A positive identification of deceased pedestrian, as well as the time, cause and manner of their death will be determined by the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner.

Pursuant of statewide protocol for occupied school buses involved in student injury collisions, the California Highway Patrol will be the lead agency in a detailed incident investigation.

(photos)

Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

READ MORE - Pedestrian Dies, 20 Students Hospitalized Following Boyle Heights School Bus Collision

On Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 8:08 PM, 10 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 5 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 2 Arson Units, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 2 EMS Battalion Captains, 3 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, under the direction of Battalion Chief Rudy Hill responded to a Greater Alarm Structure Fire at 532 North Cummings Street in the Boyle Heights area.

Within three minutes the Los Angeles Fire Department arrived on scene to find a 50’X100’ two-story four-plex with smoke and fire showing from the first floor, then swiftly summoned additional help. Firefighters forced entry through security gates to enable hand-lines to be extended while simultaneously performing vertical ventilation to battle the well-entrenched blaze.

The flames ran through the center hallway and burned three separate units on the first floor and lapped up to the second story. 75 Firefighters extinguished the early evening, stubborn blaze in 37 minutes.

Smoke Alarms were present in the 4,896 square-foot building, but their functional status and role in alerting occupants could not be immediately determined. There were no window security bars or obvious non-fire factors to impede egress from this 83 year old building.

Unfortunately this very hot blaze injured three people. One adult male Firefighter and an adult female civilian suffered burns and were transported to local hospitals in minor condition, and an adult male civilian suffered burns to the face and respiratory tract and was taken to a hospital in critical condition. An additional 10 adults and 10 children were displaced but were housed at Fire Station 2 where Firefighters and Council Member Jose Huizar comforted the families and provided hot cocoa and ice cream to the children while they awaited relief from the American Red Cross.

Monetary loss from the fire is estimated at $195,000 ($145,000 structure & $50,000 contents). The cause is undetermined.

Submitted by Erik Scott, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

READ MORE - Early Evening Blaze Injures Three

On Wednesday, June 24, 2009 at 3:51 PM, 8 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters,2 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Arson Unit, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 1 EMS Battalion Captain, 2 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams and 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, a total of 56 Los Angeles Firefighters under the direction of Battalion Chief James Gaffney, responded to a Structure Fire at 2510 East 2nd Street in Boyle Heights.

Firefighters arrived quickly to find smoke showing from the attic of a one-story residential fourplex. With winds from the east gusting to 20 miles per hour, flames had taken strong hold of the common attic within the former single family home prior to their arrival, briefly threatening a dwelling to the north.


View Larger Pre-Fire Image (you can also click, grab or zoom the image above!)
With fire spreading freely through the attic of the 114 year-old building on account of the wind and balloon frame construction typical of the era, firefighters fiercely fought the blaze by opening the steeply pitched roof to limit fire extension while their colleagues below fought flames and protected resident's belongings.

The fire was confined to the attic of the 1,777 square-foot structure and extinguished in just 45 minutes.

There were no injuries.

Though smoke alarms were present within the structure, their functional status and role in alerting occupants could not be immediately determined.

Nine adult residents displaced by the fire were referred to the American Red Cross for assistance.

The diligent firefighting and salvage efforts of Los Angeles Firefighters limited loss to $45,000 ($30,000 structure & $15,000 contents). The cause of the fire was determined to be electrical and attributed to the building's antiquated wiring system.


Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

READ MORE - Nine Displaced by Wind Driven Fire in Boyle Heights