On Tuesday, September 28, 2010 at 2:14 AM, 12 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 6 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Arson Unit, 1 Urban Search and Rescue Unit, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 1 EMS Battalion Captain, 2 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, 1 Division Officer Command Team and 1 Rehab Air Tender under the direction of Battalion Chief Fred J. Mathis responded to an explosion at 1127 West Wilshire Boulevard in Pico/Union.

Firefighters responded to an automatic alarm at Samaritan Medical Tower, a 15-story commercial high-rise building. As Firefighters assessed the building they noticed the lobby glass doors were blown out, ceiling tiles were broken inside, and there was a large power outage. Even though there were signs of an explosion, there were no signs of a fire. Concerned with the potential of a bomb threat, additional assistance was requested including LAPD, DWP, Haz-Mat and USAR. After the possibility of a bomb threat diminished, and the structural integrity of the 64 year-old building was ensured, Firefighters were able to safely reenter the building. Smoke was noticed, and a small but stubborn fire was battled on the first-floor.

Firefighters performed a lengthy and detailed search through the 175,000 sq-foot building, fortunately no victims were found and no one was injured. Just after two and a half hours, 88 Firefighters declared a Knockdown. The dollar loss is estimated at $200,000 ($150,000 structure and $50,000 contents). The cause of the fire was from an underground vault explosion.

Submitted by Erik Scott, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

READ MORE - Explosion In Downtown LA

On Saturday, August 14, 2010 at 1:51 PM, 11 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 5 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Urban Search and Rescue Unit, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 3 EMS Battalion Captains, 3 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams and 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, a total of 84 Los Angeles Firefighters under the direction of Battalion Chief James Gaffney, responded to a Greater Alarm Structure Fire at 430 South Union Avenue in the Westlake district of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Firefighters arrived quickly to find light smoke emanating from a three-story center hallway apartment building.

Directed by occupants who had smelled smoke within the 14,885 square-foot building, firefighters made their way to a pair of small apartments on the second floor, where a swift moving fire had erupted in the ceiling.

Ushering residents to safety in a calm and orderly manner, firefighters commenced their attack on the flames, which had spread to a wall between 3rd floor units directly above, as well as a portion of the attic.

The fire was confined to effect only 4 apartments in the 30 unit building. Flames were extinguished in just 34 minutes, and there were no injuries.

Displaced by the blaze were 5 adults and 1 child, all of whom were referred to the American Red Cross for temporary shelter and needs assistance.

Loss to the 84 year-old building has been estimated at $40,000 ($30,000 structure & $10,000 contents). The cause of the fire was determined to be electrical in nature.

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Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

READ MORE - Electrical Fire Displaces Six in L.A.'s Westlake Neighborhood

On Saturday, May 8, 2010 at 8:46 AM, 18 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 18 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 3 Arson Units, 1 Urban Search and Rescue Unit, 1 Rehab Unit, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 5 EMS Battalion Captains, 7 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, under the direction of Assistant Chief Michael Little responded to a Structure Fire at 255 South Loma Drive in the Westlake area of downtown Los Angeles.

Multiple 911 calls were received in rapid succession prompting a quick dispatch of firefighters to a three-story Center-Hallway apartment building over a parking garage. Smoke could be seen two blocks away as firefighters approached, they arrived within three minutes to find fire lapping out of the second-story of this 60' x 300' building and some occupants jumping out of second-story windows. Firefighters sprinted into action providing ladders to assist those in need and deployed handlines to aggressively attack the flames while performing a primary search. Additional firefighters were immediately summoned to assist battling the blaze.

The 42-unit apartment complex was in compliance with the city's Dorothy Mae Ordinance including hard wired smoke alarms, smoke-activated magnetic fire doors and automatic sprinklers in the parking area, all of which assisted in saving lives. This serves as a good reminder for all to never block open fire doors as this allows smoke and fire to travel and impede occupants from escaping in an emergency.

One unit was completely destroyed by flames and five others were damaged. Over 150 firefighters extinguished the blaze in just 28 minutes however 13 persons received injuries, two of which were in critical condition. There were no security doors, window bars or obvious non-fire factors to impede the victims from exiting the home.

Firefighters remained on scene for over five hours, protecting the homeowners belongings from additional damage during the salvage and overhaul operations. The total dollar loss was estimated at $255,000 ($180,000 structure and $75,000 content). The cause is under investigation and the American Red Cross assisted any displaced occupants.

Submitted by Erik Scott, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

READ MORE - 13 Injured From Apartment Fire in Downtown L.A.