On September 17, 2018, the Los Angeles Fire Department was notified at 5:20 PM of a structure fire at 3501 North San Fernando Road in Glassell Park.  Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the first floor of an occupied ‘L’ shaped two-story commercial building.

With workers inside the building, firefighters started an immediate evacuation and performed a primary search while crews extended hose lines and began extinguishing the flames.  Housing a party supply company, the building was filled with a heavy fuel load and the fire quickly extended onto the second floor. When firefighters attempted to make access to the second floor, heavy smoke filled the hallway causing the blaze to ignite and flash.

As heavy flames quickly extended through the building, firefighters were forced to exit and transition to a defensive operation.  Even while outside the building, there were still a multitude of hazards, such as downed power lines and the building's walls, which began to buckle.  Despite the challenges, LAFD crews were succssful in stopping the flames before they could enter a nearby medical supply building where oxygen tanks were stored. 

As the incident evolved and additional firefighters were summoned, a total of 150 personnel arrived for the coordinated effort of extinguishing the major emergency structure fire, an effort that lasted seven hours and twenty minutes.

There were no reported injuries. The cause of the fire is under active investigation by the LAFD Arson/ Counter- Terrorism Section.

Dispatched Units: AR1 BC10 BC11 BC13 BC14 BC18 BC2 BC9 CL1 CM21 CM22 E1 E11 E12 E2 E201 E202 E203 E209 E21 E210 E211 E212 E220 E221 E235 E250 E3 E42 E44 E55 E56 E6 EA1 EM11 EM14 HM17 HR3 HU114 HU59 PH1 PI1 PI2 PI3 RA35 RA55 RA56 RA850 SQ21 T1 T10 T11 T12 T2 T20 T21 T3 T35 T50 UR88