Teenager Gravely Injured in Overnight Blaze
During the night, fire ripped through the home of a family in South Los Angeles, leaving a teenager fighting for her life.
At 1:18AM on August 25, 2019 the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a reported structure fire at 717 W 52nd Place in South Los Angeles. Firefighters arrived to find a one story, single family dwelling well involved with fire and reports of people trapped.
The volume and intensity of the flames required firefighters to conduct a transitional attack prior to entering the structure for an interior fire attack. The transitional attack involves the application of a straight stream of water from the exterior of the structure that provides a brief ‘break of the fire triangle’ by cooling the environment. This gives firefighters the chance to enter the building to more directly attack the flames.
Within minutes of arriving on scene, the first crews were inside and searching for trapped victims. They quickly located an unresponsive, 17 year old female and brought her out for immediate medical care. With lifesaving treatment underway, she was rapidly transported in grave condition. Three additional members of her family were home at the time of the fire. A 59 year old male suffered non-life threatening burn injuries and was transported to the hospital. A 60 year old female and 40 year old female were not injured. An additional 28 year old female was transported for injuries not related to the fire (from a home a couple doors down).
The occupants of the home reported having smoke alarms; however, there was no indication of functioning smoke alarms and they did not report being awoken by the alarms. This tragedy serves as a sober reminder for all our residents to ensure you check the battery on your smoke alarms on a monthly basis and replace them annually. If you need (free) assistance with new smoke alarms, please visit www.mysmokealarm.org.
The Mayor’s Crisis Response Team responded to assist the family through the difficult experience. The cause of the fire is under active investigation by LAFD Arson and Counter-Terrorism Section (ACTS).
