SOUTH LOS ANGELES - An elderly female occupant succumbed to burn injuries from an unintentional house fire on Tuesday, November 15, 2011.
Los Angeles Firefighters arrived on-scene within just three minutes to find heavy smoke showing from a single-story residence at 526 Jefferson Boulevard.
Forcing entry into the residence, firefighters encountered intense flames among "pack rat" storage of personal belongings, yet pushed on relentlessly to search all parts of the fire and smoke-charged home for a physically handicapped woman reportedly trapped in the blaze. It was during this initial assault on the flames that firefighters quickly and skillfully discovered an 81 year-old female occupant located inside the 1,948 square-foot home. She was immediately extricated and provided with medical care for significant burn injuries on-scene and while being rushed to LA County USC Medical Center.
The flames were extinguished by 45 firefighters, under the command of Battalion Chief Carlos Calvillo, in just 12 minutes.
Along with the excessive storage that potentially hampered occupant escape, the home was fitted with window security bars and both front and back metal security doors which were locked, and required forcible entry with rotary saws. There was also no evidence of smoke alarms within the home as required by law. The century-old wood frame building was not equipped with residential fire sprinklers.
Forcing entry into the residence, firefighters encountered intense flames among "pack rat" storage of personal belongings, yet pushed on relentlessly to search all parts of the fire and smoke-charged home for a physically handicapped woman reportedly trapped in the blaze. It was during this initial assault on the flames that firefighters quickly and skillfully discovered an 81 year-old female occupant located inside the 1,948 square-foot home. She was immediately extricated and provided with medical care for significant burn injuries on-scene and while being rushed to LA County USC Medical Center. The flames were extinguished by 45 firefighters, under the command of Battalion Chief Carlos Calvillo, in just 12 minutes.
Along with the excessive storage that potentially hampered occupant escape, the home was fitted with window security bars and both front and back metal security doors which were locked, and required forcible entry with rotary saws. There was also no evidence of smoke alarms within the home as required by law. The century-old wood frame building was not equipped with residential fire sprinklers.
Sadly, the next day the woman succumbed to her injuries at the USC Burn Unit.
A positive identification of the deceased woman, as well as exact cause, time and manner of her death, will be determined by the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner.
LAFD's Arson Counter-Terrorism Chief Michael Greenup stated, "The floor furnace was the area of origin of the fire, where numerous combustibles were located. The cause of the fire was unintentional."
Monetary loss from the fire is still being tabulated.
Monetary loss from the fire is still being tabulated.
Dispatched Units:
E14 RA814 RA14 E215 E15 T15 E21 T21 E221 SQ21 EM11 BC11 BC1 E9 BC13 RA15 AR1 AR7 AR3 AR12 AR9
Submitted by Erik Scott, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department
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