Chatsworth Blaze Destroys Business
A major blaze lit the night sky in Chatsworth and firefighters battled for over 90 minutes to quell the flames.
At 9:53PM on December 16, 2020 the Los Angeles City Fire Department responded to 20150 W Sunburst St for a reported structure fire.
The first arriving fire companies found a one story, commercial building with fire through the roof and requested additional resources. The 28,556 square foot building, built in 1981, was well involved in fire and a decision was quickly made to transition to a defensive mode.
Truck companies put ladder pipes into operation and firefighters used large diameter hand lines to hit the target from all sides. Crews successfully defended the adjacent structures from sustaining damage.
Ultimately, over 120 firefighters working under the leadership of Assistant Chief Corey Rose achieved a knockdown in one hour and thirty-four minutes. One firefighter was transported to the hospital with serious but non-life threatening burn injuries.
The concrete, tilt-up building sustained heavy damage, to include roof collapse, which left it dangerously vulnerable to further collapse of the walls. Consequently, the Department of Building and Safety red-tagged the structure for safety purposes. Overhaul operations and cause investigation were held off until morning while fire companies remained on scene in a fire watch. The RS3 Robotic Firefighting Vehicle was also on scene to assist with interior operations if needed through the night.
UPDATE: December 29, 2020 The injured firefighter required multiple surgeries due to the burn injuries and remains admitted for continuing treatment.
