Early Morning Blaze in South Los Angeles
A strong defensive firefight from all four sides of a large, commercial building prevented the massive fire from spreading.The Los Angeles Fire Department received a reported structure fire call at 5:33 AM on December 11, 2015. Upon arriving at 1824 E Washington Blvd, firefighters found a large, one story commercial building with heavy fire. Crews initiated an offensive attack but due to the bulk of the fire and the potential roof collapse, they reorganized into a defensive operation.
Heavy streams flowed onto the fire when the anticipated roof collapse occurred. The experienced call to go defensive, conducting operations from the exterior only, ensured no firefighters were injured. Firefighters positioned on the roofs of adjacent buildings used handlines to protect the exposures while the fight continued. 119 firefighters, under the command of Deputy Chief Phillip Fligiel, gained a knockdown on the fire in approximately one hour. The building housed a recycling operation and was not occupied at the time of the fire.
The two story apartment building next door was vacant, therefore no residents were impacted. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
Dispatched units: E17 RA17 E14 RA814 E9 T9 E221 T21 EM1 BC1 BC11 E21 E10 E202 T2 E215 T15 CM22 EM11 BC18 T3 E203 UR3 RA3 RA803 HR56 E27 UR88 BC5 T10 E210 RM1 E11 E26 E266 T66 E211 T11 RA14 EM2 RA9 E29 SU2 BC741 EA1 CM21 AR10 SQ21 RT59 RA892 AR17 AR11 RA909 AR1 T39 E239 E63 E27
