LAFD Battles North Hills Structure Fire that Claims Man's Life

NORTH HILLS WEST - Los Angeles Firefighters battled a fully involved house fire that claimed the life of one occupant and a pet dog on August 8, 2013.

Just after 9:00 pm the Los Angeles Fire Department was summoned to a Structure Fire at 16336 Plummer Street, and while en-route they could see a large plume of smoke rising. They arrived on scene to find a one-story Single Family Dwelling fully involved in fire with flames blowing out of the front windows. Additional companies were immediately requested.

Fire attack teams entered the inferno through the front door and performed fire suppression and rescue efforts through the 1,344 square-foot home. Additional firefighters cut ventilation holes in the roof to release super heated gases. Much of the ceiling, which was tongue and groove without attic space above, burned through. A trailer and motor home in the backyard were damaged by the flames and a neighboring house to the west was exposed to flame and heat. Firefighters faced additional concerns of downed live power lines that could be seen arcing in the rear of the structure. DWP was requested to assist.

During the conclusion of fire attack, firefighters discovered the remains of an adult male significantly burned in the dining room of the structure. Beyond medical help, he was declared deceased at the scene. A pet dog was also found beyond help in the master bedroom. No other injuries were reported.

A well coordinated attack by a total of 52 firefighters, all under the command of Battalion Chief Brian Schultz, fully extinguished the flames in just 23 minutes.

It was not readily known if the home was fitted with functional smoke alarms. There were no security doors or window security bars to impede the man's egress. However, the home was described as pack rat conditions due to excessive storage inside. The 58-year old dwelling was not equipped with residential fire sprinklers.

A positive identification of the deceased man to include his age, as well as the cause, time and manner of his death, will be determined by the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner.

Monetary loss from the fire is estimated at $300,000 ($250,000 structure and $50,000 contents). The cause of the evening blaze remains under active investigation by the LAFD Arson Section.

Dispatched Units: E287 T87 E290 E90 T90 E275 T75 RA75 E7 RA70 EM15 BC12 BC10 E70 E103 E298 T98 AR2 AR7 AR23

Submitted by Erik Scott, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

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Blood Drives and Pancake Breakfasts to Benefit Fire Families

Join the Los Angeles Fire Department in our efforts to help a member of our fire family. Please consider donating your blood or platelets to help the young son of Firefighter Mike Fortini. "Little Mikey" was unfortunately diagnosed with A.L. Leukemia and is expected to undergo at least two months of chemotherapy and radiation treatment. He needs our help!

Two Blood Drives will be held during the month of June, with a Firefighters' Pancake Breakfast and other snacks served to all donors.

June 15, 2011 in Downtown Los Angeles at Fire Station 4, from 7:00 am - 1:00 pm.
Fire Station 4 is located at 450 East Temple Street, Los Angeles, CA  90012. For additional information, contact Nelson Joo at (949) 636-6077 or Fire Station 4 (213) 485-6204.

June 23, 2011 in the San Fernando Valley area at Fire Station 87, from 7:00 am - 1:00 pm.
Fire Station 87 is located at 10124 Balboa Blvd, Granada Hills, CA  91344.  For additional information, contact Fire Station 87 at (818) 360-1440 or (818) 756-8687.

For those unable to make either of these events, there will be an on-going blood and platelet donation for Michael Fortini Jr. at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, 4650 Sunset Blvd., L.A., CA  90027. The hospital's donation hours are Monday-Friday from 7:00 am - 4:00 pm and on weekends from 7:00 am - 1:00 pm. Please call the hospital in advance to make an appointment at (323) 361-2441.

As a reminder, all blood types are needed and all blood donations will benefit Children's Hospital of Los Angeles and LAFD family members.

Please mark your calendars and make plans to join us. On behalf of "Little Mikey" and the rest of the LAFD Families in need, we thank you!

Submitted by Matt Spence, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

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Firefighter Injured While Battling Blaze in Granada Hills

On Monday, April 18, 2011 at 6:06 AM, 6 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 2 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 EMS Battalion Captain, 2 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, a total of 39 Firefighters all under the direction of Battalion Chief Robert Willcox responded to a Structure Fire with Firefighter Injury at 11065 North Balboa Boulevard in Granada Hills.

The first Firefighter on-scene started his work day a little early, as he was driving to his Fire Station from home, he noticed smoke billowing out of a one-story 100' x 50' Commercial Strip Mall. He immediately contacted 9-1-1, provided a size-up, and assured no one was inside by speaking with a worker that arrived just seconds prior.


As additional Firefighters arrived and made entry into the structure, black smoke was banked down within one foot of the floor. Teams of Firefighters swiftly extended ground ladders to the roof of the 9,300 square-foot, multi unit structure to perform strategic vertical-ventilation with chainsaws, as their colleagues deployed hose-lines within the building to do battle with the flames.


One Firefighter made his way up a ladder to the conventional flat roof, and as he climbed down a four-foot parapet, he fell and seriously injured his left knee. His fellow Firefighters quickly came to his aid and it was deemed best to remove him from the roof via a hoist operation. An Aerial truck raised its ladder to the roof with a specialized basket attached to bottom of it, of which the injured Firefighter was placed inside and lowered to safety. The wounded Firefighter was transported to Holy Cross hospital where he was later released and will remain off-duty until healed.


The fire, described at "hot and smoldering", was confined to just one unit doing business as Chile's Mexican Food restaurant. The flames were fully extinguished in just 13 minutes, before any civilians were injured. The 52 year-old non-fire sprinklered building was equipped with properly working smoke alarms.


Monetary loss from the fire is estimated at $50,000 ($20,000 structure & $30,000 contents). The cause of the blaze was determined electrical in nature, and may be attributed to an overloaded electrical power strip found under a counter.



Submitted by Erik Scott, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department

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