Pacoima, California – A man died and five people sustained injuries in a residential fire that rapidly engulfed four properties on Thursday, after fireworks actively detonated during the blaze, requiring firefighters to mount a large-scale response, officials reported.
LAFD Firefighter David Ortiz told KABC in an interview that the fire involved a “significant amount of fireworks that were being stored.”
The incident unfolded shortly after 9 p.m. in Los Angeles, California’s Pacoima neighborhood, when authorities discovered flames consuming three one-story homes. The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to reports that “active fireworks inside a detached garage are exposing more homes and brush in the area,” according to information KABC obtained from the LAFD.
“Fireworks were still actively detonating in the area, contributing to the spread of the fire and threatening nearby brush and structures,” the fire department stated Friday.
“I felt almost like the impact, you feel it. And as soon as I heard that, I turned the street to see if anyone needed help and more fireworks started going off,” one area resident told KABC. “It felt like an explosion … the fireworks started going off and sooner or later all these fires started coming.”
Authorities discovered a man approximately 30 years old dead after firefighters extinguished the blaze, and emergency responders transported a 33-year-old woman to the hospital in critical but stable condition. Four additional people received treatment for smoke inhalation at the scene but refused hospital transport.
The fire also injured multiple animals, and responders rushed at least one injured dog directly to an emergency veterinary hospital, the fire department reported.
“The flames ultimately involved four primary homes, multiple attached and detached ADUs, and a parked vehicle on four total properties. Knockdown was declared at 9:51 PM, approximately 53 minutes after the initial report,” the fire department stated Friday.
More than 130 firefighters battled and contained the blaze in just under an hour, according to the LAFD.
Officials discovered a gas leak at one of the homes involved in the fire, which prompted the gas company to respond. Live electrical wires also fell behind the initial three properties that caught fire, requiring the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to manage the incident.
Investigators are working to determine how the fire started.
“Right now we are encouraging people to leave the fireworks to the professionals. Obviously people that are not trained to handle fireworks are selling fireworks out of private residences and we need to change that culture — change it to one where folks go see a professional show,” Ortiz said.
“Southern California is not really a safe place to detonate these fireworks. They are very powerful and can start fires. We have a lot of dry vegetation,” Ortiz said.
