Source: Los Angeles Fire Department
Photos by Bill Hartenstein
On Tuesday, March 21, 2000, at 12:30 PM, thirty-one Companies of
Los Angeles Firefighters and four LAFD
Rescue Ambulances under the command of Assistant
Chief Gary Seidel responded to a Major Emergency Structure Fire at 3133 North San
Fernando Road in Glassell Park.
Responding to a report of a rubbish fire in an alley, the
first Company arrived within two minutes of the
initial call to discover a fire that had gained a
strong foothold in the rear portion of a 75' x 100' one-story commercial
structure.
Despite aggressive fire suppression efforts by the first arriving
Firefighters and dozens of their colleagues who arrived within minutes,
the fire quickly spread to the contents within the joint tenancies of
"Carpet Kingdom" and the "San Fernando Swap Meet".
A stalwart interior assault on the fire with handlines was at times
hampered by erratic winds, and soon the structure was untenable -
with flames through the roof.
As a transition was made to defensive operations with master streams,
structural compromise was noted in two walls to the rear of
the building. Ultimately, portions of the roof did collapse,
but the fire was confined to the carpeting retail and warehouse firm
as well as the multi-tenant swap meet cooperative.
Thanks to Firefighters efforts, several adjacent businesses
were spared damage. The flames were extinguished in just 55 minutes.
One adult male civilian sustained superficial burn injuries.
He declined treatment and transportation.
One Firefighter suffered back strain during the arduous fire attack,
and was taken to an area hospital where he was treated and released.
Loss from this fire is still being tabulated, while the cause
is listed as "accidental" and is attributed to wind driven
flames from a fire ignited by a leaking propane barbecue.
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