Roll-up door drops on firefighters
HYDE PARK – A fierce battle late into the night resulted in a large commercial building being saved from damage by the neighboring blaze.
At 12:24AM on January 20, 2021 the Los Angeles City Fire Department responded to 4401 S Crenshaw Blvd in Hyde Park for a reported structure fire.
We arrived to find a two story, vacant commercial building with fire showing from the roof. Firefighters immediately initiated an offensive operation, forcing entry into the building while truck companies went to the roof for conduct vertical ventilation operation. The fire quickly extended into the attached unit.
Due to heavy fire on both floors and a compartmentalized interior including a subterranean floor, we had difficulty accessing the seat of the fire, additionally, the structural integrity of one side of the building came into question, therefore transitioned to a defensive operation by pulling firefighters out from the interior and off the roof, to pour water from large hose lions from the outside. Then we had a significant partial building collapse.
While continuing to battle large flames, the focus shifted to defending the exposed three-story commercial building mere feet away. A coordinated, attack by 160 firefighters, led by Assistant Chief Katie Kepner, resulted in an extinguishment of the fire at the 90 minute mark. One firefighter was transported early in the incident for non-life threatening injuries sustained during the forcible entry phase of the operation. LAFD Arson and Counter-Terrorism Section responded for the cause investigation, per protocol for a Major Emergency incident.
For additional or updated information, please see: http://lafd.org/news/large-commercial…
