Two Firefighters Injured, Family Displaced in North Hills Apartment Fire

NORTH HILLS - Two Los Angeles Firefighters were injured and a family of three displaced, when fire engulfed an apartment Saturday afternoon.

The Los Angeles Fire Department was summoned at 1:06 PM on September 21, 2013 to 8718 Parthenia Place in North Hills. Firefighters arrived swiftly at the 5,864 square-foot two-story garden-style building, to find one second floor apartment heavily involved with fire. With reports of people trapped in the inferno, an aggressive and well-coordinated attack on the fire quickly ensued.

While their colleagues battled the flames, LAFD Paramedics examined five neighbors who had tried accessing the smoke-charged apartment in a belief that occupants were trapped. Thankfully, the involved apartment had been equipped with properly installed and maintained smoke alarms, which alerted occupants and neighbors to escape in a timely manner.

The three occupants of the burning unit were without physical harm, and the five neighbors who acted in good will required no immediate care for their brief exposure to smoke. It took 44 firefighters under the command of Battalion Chief Curt Klafta, just 17 minutes to fully extinguish the flames, which were confined to the apartment of fire origin.

During fire attack, two firefighters were injured. One suffered first- and second-degree burns to his hands, ears, forehead and right knee. The other required treatment for smoke inhalation. Both men were transported to hospitals by Fire Department ambulance for what were considered non-life threatening injuries.

No other persons were injured. The woman and her two teenage sons displaced by the fire were provided on-site assistance with temporary living needs by American Red Cross Disaster Action Team volunteers.

LAFD crews spent an additional four hours at the scene mopping up the blaze while providing personal care and emotional support to residents of the eleven unit complex. Despite a lack of residential fire sprinklers, loss to the 57 year-old building was limited to $90,000 ($60,000 structure & $30,000 contents). The blaze is considered electrical in nature, attributed to a window mounted air conditioner.

Dispatched Units: E290 T90 RA90 E81 RA81 E275 T75 EM14 BC12 E98 E7 RA7 E287 T87 T87 E287 E275 T75 AR2 BC12

[ photos ]

Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

Follow @LAFD and @LAFDtalk on Twitter and find us on Facebook

Article any source

Fast Moving Arleta Blaze Displaces Seven, Injures Firefighters

ARLETA - A fast-moving house fire sparked by the careless use of a barbecue, displaced seven residents and sent three Los Angeles Firefighters to the hospital on Wednesday afternoon.

The Los Angeles Fire Department was summoned at 12:48 PM on November 28, 2012 to 9205 Dorrington Avenue in Arleta, where firefighters discovered fire to the rear of a one-story home. Intense flames had consumed an 8' x 15' fabric canopy stretched over a tall metal frame that abutted the residence, allowing flames to extend into the building prior to the Fire Department's arrival.

During the skirmish with flames, one firefighter fell nine feet through fire-weakened eaves at the southwest edge of the home, squarely striking a colleague on the ground and grazing another before landing on a ragged pile of debris outside the building. The three men sustained injuries that ranged from painful to potentially debilitating, yet were considered non-life threatening. The trio were taken to an area hospital where at least one was expected to remain for observation.

LAFD crews reunited two small dogs with the homeowner as they battled the flames, which were extinguished in just 16 minutes - but not before causing $100,000 damage ($70,000 structure & $30,000 contents) to the home, which was not equipped with fire sprinklers.

No other injuries were reported. The American Red Cross provided temporary placement assistance to the three adults and four children displaced by the blaze.

The cause of the fire is considered accidental. Responders attribute the blaze to careless placement of the barbecue beneath a fabric canopy, combined with unsafe handling of ignited charcoal.

Dispatched Units: E7 E81 RA75 T90 RA890 EM12 BC12 E98 T98 E298 RA7 RA898 E275 E289 T89 DC3 E290

[ photos ]

Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

Follow @LAFD and @LAFDtalk on Twitter and find us on Facebook

Article any source

Los Angeles Firefighters Rescue Victims From Sun Valley House Blaze

SUN VALLEY - Los Angeles Firefighters quickly extinguish a house blaze that injured five, one critically.

Summoned by a 9-1-1 call at 12:18 AM on November 10, 2012, the Los Angeles Fire Department responded quickly to 8919 Stanwin Avenue in Sun Valley, to discover a one-story residence, with heavy fire showing. The structure was of typical 1950's stucco construction, with a hip-style roof, and four bedrooms, one of which was converted from a large 20' x 14' enclosed patio.

LAFD crews swiftly took to the roof to perform strategic vertical ventilation of heat and smoke, as their colleagues forced entry into the house to battle the well entrenched flames in the living room, enclosed patio-room, and kitchen. Four residents were inside when the blaze broke out.

Firefighters made an aggressive search and rescue operation of the 1,827 square-feet residence and successfully rescued the most critically injured from the front bedroom, and ensured all other occupants were out safely.

It took the well-coordinated effort of 45 Los Angeles Firefighters, under the command of Battalion Chief Daniel McCarty, just 21 minutes to extinguish the flames before they could spread to nearby residences.

A total of five adults were injured. Two were occupants and three were neighbors: A 50 year-old female suffered 2nd & 3rd degree burns to 25% of her body, and was rapidly treated and transported to a local hospital in critical condition. A 45 year-old male suffered a minor respiratory injury and was treated and transported to local hospital in fair to serious condition. Three neighbors suffered minor cuts to their hands after attempting to rescue the victims, and declined transport to the hospital.

All four residents of the house fire were displaced, only two were injured.

Smoke alarms were located in the residence, however their functional status was not readily determined, and no smoke alarms were found in or immediately outside the room where the critically injured were rescued. There were no obvious non-fire factors to impair the occupants egress from the dwelling, which was not equipped with residential fire sprinklers.

Monetary loss from the fire is still being tabulated. The cause of the blaze remains under active investigation by the LAFD Arson Section.

Dispatched Units: E289 E89 T89 RA889 E77 RA77 E7 EM14 BC14 E81 RA81 E39 E298 T98 AR2 AR12 AR17

[ photos ]

Submitted by Erik Scott, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

Follow @LAFD and @LAFDtalk on Twitter and find us on Facebook

Article any source