Major Emergency Fire in Los Angeles Displaces Multiple Families

On Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 8:01 PM, 15 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 5 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Arson Unit, 2 Urban Search and Rescue Units, 1 Rehab Unit, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 1 EMS Battalion Captain, 4 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, Emergency Air 1, 2 CERT Coordinators, DWP, LAPD, DOT and Building and Safety, all under the direction of Assistant Chief Terrance Manning, responded to a Major Emergency Structure Fire at 5233 E. Monte Vista St. in the Highland Park area.

The first arriving Firefighters on scene, found a 4 story, “C” shaped, center hallway apartment building with heavy smoke and fire showing from a unit on the 4th floor. Occupants of the building were self evacuating “out” as Firefighters raced “in” to establish hoselines in the fast growing fire. Reports from the roof team indicated the first heat holes were emitting large amounts of fire, prompted the Incident Commander to increase firefighting efforts with additional companies.

The roof team provided an aggressive ventilation effort, cutting several heat holes and eventually creating a strip to gain control of the fire. The roof team also initiated an offensive fire attack with hoselines from the roof after interior Firefighters were withdrawn from the immediate area, knocking down the bulk of the fire, enabling interior handlines to be re-established. 34 minutes into the fire fight there was a partial roof collapse and a PAR (Personnel Accountability Report) was initiated.

It took 111 Firefighters 1 hour 10 minutes to call a knock down on the fire. There were 11 units deemed uninhabitable for residents and the Red Cross was requested for rehousing assistance for the displaced families. The cause and dollar loss estimate will be determined at the completion of the investigation. There were no reports of injury.

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Written by d’Lisa Davies
Los Angeles Fire Department