Fire Damages Strip Mall In Korea Town

On Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at 9:50 PM, 11 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, under the direction of Battalion Chief Fred J. Mathis responded to a Greater Alarm Structure Fire at 2528 West Olympic Boulevard in Korea town.

Firefighters arrived on scene to find smoke and fire showing from the roof of a two-story 'U' shaped 'strip mall' of commercial businesses. Rotary saws were utilized to force entry allowing firefighters to quickly deploy hand lines and begin extinguishing the flames.

Two Truck Companies were assigned to the roof and worked extensively to remove heavy tiles in order perform vertical ventilation. The majority of the flames originated from the facade on the roof and with the expertise of all firefighters on scene, the horizontal spread of the fire was soon halted.

Seventy four firefighters were able to obtain a knockdown in just 31 minutes at 10:21 PM. The cause was electrical and the dollar loss is $225,000 ($175,000 property and $50,000 contents). No injuries were reported.

Submitted by Erik Scott
Los Angeles Fire Department