Firefighters Stop Chatsworth Townhouse Blaze in Just 25 Minutes
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
LAFD Spokesperson: Brian Humphrey
CHATSWORTH-
It took more than four dozen firefighters to tame an accidental fire that damaged two townhomes but thankfully caused no injury Wednesday morning.
The Los Angeles Fire Department was notified at 8:31 AM on May 24, 2017 of a structure fire at 10007 Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Chatsworth. Firefighters arrived quickly to find smoke showing from a split-level townhouse style condominium of three occupied floors over parking.
A resident and a relative inside a vacant unit - in the midst of a remodel, were attempting to solder plumbing within a wall shared by the neighboring townhome, when flames erupted and swiftly raced inside the wall to the upper floors and separate but adjacent attics of both units.
LAFD crews rapidly deployed multiple hoselines to battle flames in separate sections of the burning building, as their colleagues climbed ladders with hand tools and chainsaws to perform strategic vertical ventilation of the multi-tier tile roof. The well-cordinated rooftop effort was successful in ventilating intense heat, thick smoke and gases, which limited the fire's horizontal spread and allowed crews working inside to get to the seat of the fire.
Fifty firefighters under the command of Battalion Chief Jaime Lesinski confined the flames to the two townhomes and their attics, fully extinguishing the blaze in just 25 minutes. There were no injuries.
Volunteers from the American Red Cross were summoned to offer temporary assistance to five displaced residents from the occupied unit.
The cause of the fire is considered accidental. Monetary loss from the blaze is still being tabulated.
Dispatched Units: E296 T96 RA96 RA896 E496 E72 E104 T87 BC15 BC17 RA72 EM15 UR88 T89 E289 UR89 RA889 E27 BC14 CM42 E298 T98 E93 EM17 HR3 E5 T85 E285 UR85 BC6 RA881 RT83
