Two Pets Perish in Echo Park Blaze Sparked by Careless Smoking
A fire caused by careless smoking - specifically an unattended cigarette, led to a greater alarm fire that seriously damaged an Echo Park home and killed two pet cats Monday afternoon.
The Los Angeles Fire Department was summoned at 3:25 PM on May 2, 2016 to 640 Echo Park Avenue in Echo Park, where firefighters arrived quickly to find a one-story hillside home well involved with fire.
As an LAFD helicopter hovered above the windy scene to provide reconnaissance and command support, eighty-six firefighters under the command of Battalion Chief Jaime Moore confined flames to the structure of origin, extinguishing the blaze in just 25 minutes. Radiant heat from the fire damaged windows in one adjacent home, while the other suffered minor water damage.
During fire attack, LAFD responders discovered two pet cats in the hot, smoke charged home that were beyond veterinary help. Both perished at the scene.
Though there were no human injuries, LAFD Paramedics provided comfort to one distraught resident until arrival of volunteers from the Mayor's Crisis Response Team.
The presence of smoke alarms and their functional status at the time of the fire could not be immediately determined. The 99 year-old home was not equipped with optional residential fire sprinklers.
Monetary loss from the fire is still being tabulated, and the two residents were to seek their own temporary housing.
Dispatched Units: E203 E3 T3 E11 T11 E211 RA4 RA209 BC11 E6 CM22 E201 T1 E4 T9 E209 EM13 BC1 T27 E227 E27 UR27 RA827 HR56 UR88 BC5 H6 T90 E290 E90 CM21 EA1 E3
