SOUTH LOS ANGELES - A woman was in critical condition Thursday night, after being rescued from her home by Los Angeles Firefighters, in a blaze that also caused injury to two Los Angeles Police Officers.
The fire was reported at 7:24 PM on Thursday, March 1, 2012, bringing 33 members of the Los Angeles Fire Department to battle intense flames within a one-story home at 630 West 76th Street in South Los Angeles.
With a report of persons trapped by the fire, firefighters arrived quickly to find a teenage male who had safely escaped, and two Los Angeles Police Officers with painful though minor burn injuries from attempts to rescue the boy and his yet unfound mother.
According to the teen, his mother had awakened him to the fire, allowing him to escape uninjured through a window, before she - for reasons unknown, reportedly turned toward the seat of the mounting flames, which were initially noted in the front rooms of the home.
As firefighters made a relentless attack on the fire, their colleagues began a rapid yet systematic search of the heat and smoke-charged 1,000 square-foot home, soon discovering the missing 42 year-old woman unconscious in a bathtub.
LAFD crews swiftly quenched the flames as the critically injured woman, with burns to more than 50% of her body, was carried from the home to an awaiting Fire Department ambulance. Firefighter/Paramedics continued their life-saving care while transporting the woman to California Hospital Medical Center.
The two injured Los Angeles Police Officers sustained first- and second-degree burns to their arms, and were taken by LAFD Ambulance in fair condition to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
No other injuries were reported.
The fire was fully extinguished in just 16 minutes. The presence and functional status of household smoke alarms could not be immediately determined. Though the residence was equipped with window bars and security doors, it was not evident what role - if any - they may have played in hampering the woman's egress. The home was not equipped with residential fire sprinklers.
Monetary loss from the flames, which severely damaged the home, is still being tabulated. The American Red Cross was summoned to assist the family in recovering from the fire.
The cause of the blaze remains under active investigation.
Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department
Article any source
No comments:
Post a Comment