Pacific Palisades Townhouse Fire Proves Deadly
Friday, March 3, 2017
LAFD Spokesperson: Brian Humphrey
This charred bedroom - that may not have been protected by a functional smoke alarm, is where one woman died when fire erupted inside a Pacific Palisades townhouse early March 4, 2017.
Photo Credits:
Creative Commons Licensed For Your Use: LAFD Photo | Erik ScottPACIFIC PALISADES-
A fire early Saturday morning in a Pacific Palisades townhome took the life of one woman and sent another to the hospital.
At 3:48AM on March 4, 2017 the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to 17195 Palisades Circle, where firefighters arrived quickly to find flames showing from an upstairs window at the rear of a 1,797 square-foot two story townhouse-style condominium.
With early reports of at least one person trapped by the fire, LAFD responders initiated an aggressive and well-coordinated fire attack and rescue effort.
An approximately 70 year-old female resident, made aware of the blaze by a smoke alarm and a household medical alert system, attempted to fight flames with a fire extinguisher prior to the fire department's arrival. Found downstairs and away from the fire yet suffering from smoke inhalation, she was given immediate on-scene care by LAFD Paramedics before being transported to an area hospital in serious condition.
Thirty-one firefighters under the command of Battalion Chief Jeffrey Elder skilfully confined the fire to the one upstairs bedroom and an adjacent hallway, extinguishing the flames in just 35 minutes. During their search of the heavily burnt bedroom, firefighters discovered an approximately 50 year-old female beyond medical help.
Though the three bedroom residence contained a trio of smoke alarms, there were initial indications that the hard-wired smoke alarm in the bedroom of fire origin - where the woman's body was found, had been disconnected from its power source. The 43 year-old townhome did not feature optional residential fire sprinklers.
A positive identification of the dead woman, as well as the cause, time and manner of her death will be determined by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.
Monetary loss from the fire is still being tabulated. The official cause of the early morning blaze is "undetermined but most likely accidental in nature".
Dispatched Units: E23 RA23 E269 E69 T69 RA69 E263 T63 BC9 E84 T37 E237 E19 RA19 CM42 EM17 BC17 AR2 PH1 AR37 AR21
