Fatality Fire in Central-Alameda
One man perished and another was critically burned in a raging house fire in South Los Angeles.
At 4:26AM on December 7, 2020 the Los Angeles City Fire Department responded to a reported structure fire at 1438 E 55th Street.
The first arriving firefighters found a 1, 332 square foot, one story, single family dwelling with heavy fire showing and reports of victims trapped inside.
Firefighters made a rapid entry and located a 40 year old male in a bedroom and swiftly pulled him out. Paramedics provided immediate advanced medical care and transported him in grave condition. Unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries at the hospital and was pronounced dead. A second occupant, 18 year old male, already out of the home prior to LAFD arrival, was located by paramedics and transported with critical but non-life threatening burn injuries.
While the rescue was underway, fire attack simultaneously made their way through the structure and the 44 firefighters, under the leadership of Battalion Chief David Reddix, achieved full extinguishment in 24 minutes.
The initial investigation confirmed four occupants were in the home at the time of the fire: grandfather, son and two grandsons. The 40yo male (son) and 18yo (grandson) were the only two transported with injuries. The grandfather, alerted to the fire by a smoke alarm, rushed outside to use the garden hose in an attempt to battle back the flames. He was the one who alerted the arriving fire companies to his grandson still trapped inside.
The LAFD Arson and Counter-Terrorism Section are actively investigating the cause of the fire per protocol due to fatality.
