SYLMAR - A "thunderous explosion" that ripped the roof from a Sylmar business and sent three men to the hospital, remains under investigation by local and State authorities.

A flurry of 9-1-1 calls reporting the explosion commenced at 4:20PM on Tuesday, August 9, 2011, bringing dozens of Los Angeles Fire Department personnel to a normally quiet foothill industrial park at 12349 Gladstone Avenue in the northeast San Fernando Valley.

Arriving quickly, firefighters found missing doors, buckled masonry walls, widely scattered debris and large portions of the roof blown over the parapets of a 50' x 150' section of a 7,400 square-foot one-and-two story building. There was however, no evidence of fire. With paper debris still floating in the air, LAFD crews developed a perimeter for bystander exclusion as they established a command post uphill and upwind of the incident.


Swiftly surveying the scene, firefighters quickly came to the aid of two critically injured men who had apparently been blown from the cinder-block building by the force of the explosion. With early reports of additional victims, an unknown cause - and others who may have been missing, neighborhood firefighters were soon joined by more than one hundred colleagues, including LAFD Hazardous Material and Urban Search & Rescue experts, in a detailed search for the cause and effect of the blast, which was heard and felt over a one-mile area.

The two badly injured men were rushed to trauma centers by LAFD Paramedics, as a methodical examination of the premises found no trapped or missing persons. More than 15 minutes after the search concluded, a man walked up to the command post seeking medical care for unspecified injury from the blast. He was taken in good condition by LAFD ambulance to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.

An estimate of monetary loss to the heavily damaged business, described only as an "alternative fuel and green energy firm", was still being tabulated early Wednesday.

Though the enterprise reportedly used pressure vessels and was involved in the "extraction of hydrogen from water", the specific cause of the explosion remains under active investigation by the Los Angeles Fire Department Arson/Counter-Terrorism Section and Cal/OSHA officials.


Dispatched Units: E98 RA898 RA98 E91 E275 T75 E24 E287 T87 BC12 E77 T98 E298 RA91 RA7 RA77 RA87 EM15 EM14 EM17 BC15 BC10 UR89 E89 T89 E289 UR88 E88 T88 E288 RA889 DC3 E87 SQ87 AR2 AR23 RA75 E39 EL83 AR3 AR10 BC10 EM15

(slideshow)

Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

READ MORE - 'Thunderous Explosion' in Sylmar Sends Three Men to Hospital

PACOIMA - A woman was found dead in a quickly extinguished house fire in Pacoima, but not before a passerby who attempted to fight the flames sustained injury.

The Los Angeles Fire Department was called at 3:58 PM on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 to 11666 Bromont Avenue in Pacoima, where they found smoke showing from the front window of one story home that neighbors describe as being recently vacated.

The first of thirty-four firefighters dispatched to the scene extended a hoseline into a front room of the 1,158 square-foot building, extinguishing the fire in moments - only to discover a severely burned adult female. Beyond medical help, she was declared dead at the scene.

 
LAFD Paramedics then turned their attention to the on-site treatment of an adult male, believed to have been a passerby, who sustained a cut to his hand when he broke a window in an unsuccessful attempt to use a garden hose in battling the flames. No other injuries were reported.

The presence or functional status of smoke alarms within the residence could not be immediately ascertained. Monetary loss from the blaze, which caused minimal damage to the 47-year old non-fire sprinklered home, is still being tabulated.

A positive identification of the dead woman, as well as the precise cause, time and manner of her death, will be determined the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner.

The cause of the fire remains the focus of a joint investigation by Los Angeles Fire and Police Department Investigators.

Dispatched Units: E298 E98 T98 RA898 RA98 E91 E7 EM15 BC12 E77 AR2 AR9 AR11

(video) (video)

Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

READ MORE - Woman Found Dead, Man Injured in Pacoima House Fire

On Friday, March 20, 2011 at 4:11 PM, 6 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 2 LAFD Rescue Ambulances and 1 Battalion Chief Officer Command Team, a total of 36 Los Angeles Fire Department personnel under the direction of Battalion Chief John Duca, responded to a Fire in an Automotive Recycling Facility at 12301 Branford Street in Pacoima.

Los Angeles Firefighters arrived quickly to find heavy fire among five partially dismantled vehicles stacked in a salvage yard. Multiple handlines were extended to do quick battle with the flames, which had consumed more than twenty of of the densely packed passenger cars by the time flames were brought under control just 29 minutes later.



There were no structures threatened and no injuries reported. Fire loss to the vehicle remnants was not tabulated. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.

(slideshow) (video)

Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

READ MORE - LAFD Douses Fast-Moving Pacoima Junk Yard Fire

On Saturday, July 10, 2010 at 11:45 AM, 2 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 1 LAFD Rescue Ambulance, 1 Arson Unit, under the direction of Battalion Chief John Duca responded to a Auto Fire / Civilian Fatality, WestBound 118 Freeway At the Golden State Freeway in San Fernando.

Responding to reports of an automobile on fire, firefighters arrived on scene to discover a vehicle off the left shoulder of the freeway engulfed in flames. Apparently just minutes before the incident, individuals attempted to alert the driver, who was still in motion on the freeway, that the rear of the automobile was on fire. The driver continued for some distance before colliding into the median, pinning the driver’s side door.

Civilians on scene attempted to rescue the individual, but the flames proved to be too intense. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire, but were unable to rescue the 46 year old male victim, who was later declared deceased at the scene. There is no clear evidence as to what caused the vehicle to catch fire or the condition of its driver prior to this incident.

A positive identification of the deceased man as well as the exact cause, time and manner of death will be determined by L. A. County Coroner Officials. This incident will continue to be an active investigation by the California Highway Patrol.

(photos)

Submitted by Devin Gales, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

READ MORE - Automobile Fire Claims The Life Of A Man

On Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at 7:01 AM, 6 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 17 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Heavy Rescue, 1 Urban Search and Rescue Unit, 1 Helicopter, 3 EMS Battalion Captains, 3 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams and 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, a total of 83 Los Angeles Fire Department personnel under the direction of Assistant Chief Greg West, responded to a Multi-Patient Traffic Collision involving a Train near 9800 North San Fernando Road in Pacoima.

Los Angeles Firefighters arrived quickly to find a two vehicle collision in which one vehicle was subsequently struck by an approaching train.

According to witnesses, a sedan had yielded to a passing emergency vehicle on San Fernando Road north of Branford Street before being struck by a pick-up truck, propelling both vehicles onto the adjacent railroad right-of-way.

The heavily damaged sedan with three occupants remained distant from the tracks, while the truck occupied solely by a driver landed on or near the rails - where within seconds it was struck and destroyed by a northbound commuter train.

Though no one was trapped, the man and woman in the sedan sustained moderate injuries, while the nearly 2 year-old boy riding with them, as well the truck driver, were listed in critical condition.

As their colleagues treated and transported the injured motor vehicle occupants, teams of Los Angeles Firefighters boarded the involved Metrolink Train #201, which had stopped nearby.

Though there were no obvious injuries to the 39 passengers or 3 crew members aboard the Lancaster bound train, 2 passengers who stated a desire for further medical evaluation were taken by LAFD Ambulance to area hospitals in good condition.

The four motor vehicle occupants were taken by LAFD Ambulance to the Trauma Center at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where within the hour, an LAFD Helicopter was summoned to transfer the then-stabilized child to Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles.

No other injuries were reported.

This incident remains under investigation by both Los Angeles Police Department and Southern California Regional Rail Authority officials.

(Photos) (Video) (Video) (Video)


Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

READ MORE - Pickup Struck By Train Following Two Vehicle Collision