Echo Park Blaze Damages Businesses, Injures Firefighter

ECHO PARK - A conflagration in a three-story office building alongside the Hollywood Freeway slowed traffic Tuesday night, as it damaged six businesses and sent one firefighter to the hospital.

The fire was reported on October 9, 2012 at 9:57 PM, bringing the quick response of firefighters to 1625 Palo Alto Street in Echo Park, where they discovered heavy fire to the rear of a tri-level multi-tenant commercial building.
With vegetation and the structure burning intensely on the north side of the building, teams of firefighters made forcible entry from the east and west to search the premises and protect contents while mounting an interior offense on the flames with handlines.

It was a difficult battle.

To assist the firefight and limit the spread of flame, more than a dozen LAFD personnel took to the building's 80' x 100' roof with chainsaws to strategically vent heat and smoke, in an attempt to stem the forward progress of the fire and make the building's interior more tenable for their colleagues below fighting flames and salvaging business records.

Despite oppressive conditions on the third and second floor, a tenacious firefighting offense continued there for nearly one-half hour, until physical compromise of the structure forced a well-coordinated transition to defensive operations with the external application of heavy streams.

Though as many as five firefighters were examined for potential injury, only one LAFD member required hospital care for a pair of painful dime-sized burns to his neck. In good condition, he was taken to the hospital by ambulance for first care, where he was treated and released.

No other injuries were reported.

It took the combined effort of 125 Los Angeles Firefighters less than two hours to fully extinguish the flames. The fire was confined to the structure of origin, with the bulk of fire damage limited to the attic, entire third floor and a portion of the second floor. Thanks to comprehensive salvage efforts by LAFD responders, a great number of business records were spared damage from flames or water, as was a good portion of the building's first floor.

The varied damage from fire to the businesses, including a button manufacturer, house of worship, janitorial service, auto loan firm and two printing businesses, is still being tabulated. The cause of this late night blaze remains under active investigation.

Dispatched Units: E220 T20 RA20 E6 RA6 E11 EM11 BC11 E52 T11 E211 E12 E9 T9 E3 T3 E203 RA3 RA803 EM1 E233 T33 E15 DC1 E27 E235 T35 SQ21 BC1 T10 E210 BC5 BC2 RA29 RA46 UR88 E226 T26 E2 AR1 E21 EA1 T94 E294 T64 E264 T29 E229 E17 AR7 AR17 T26 E226 BC11 AR17

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Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

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