On Thursday, January 18, 2007 at 9:02 PM, eleven Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, five LAFD Rescue Ambulances, one Arson Unit, two Urban Search and Rescue Units, one Hazardous Materials Squad, three LAFD Helicopters, two EMS Battalion Captains, three Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams and one Division Chief Officer Command Team, a total of 121 Los Angeles Fire Department personnel under the direction of Assistant Chief Ralph Terrazas responded to a Greater Alarm Structure Fire at 2131 Baxter Street in the Echo Park area near Silver Lake.

Firefighters responded swiftly to the well-established neighborhood with a reputation for having among the steepest streets in Los Angeles, to find a vegetation shrouded cliffside home fully ablaze.

Due to wind and highly flammable vegetation throughout the community, a trio of LAFD Helicopters were summoned for aerial reconnaissance, command support and water dropping capabilities as ground-based Firefighters navigated the narrow streets to commence a brisk assault on the well-entrenched flames.

Able to first access only one side of the 85 year-old wood-frame home due to precipitous terrain, Firefighters limited the lateral spread of fire to vegetation as they quickly flanked the fully involved structure and began an all-out attack on the flames.

A simultaneous search effort was soon curtailed, when it was determined that the home's sole occupant had escaped prior to the Fire Department's arrival. The woman's dialogue with Firefighters smartly guided salvage efforts as LAFD Paramedics evaluated her for possible smoke exposure.

According to the 69 year-old resident, she had been home alone tending to the fireplace in the lower portion of her split-level home before the fire erupted.

After using a pair of barbeque-type gloves to reposition burning logs, the legally-blind woman set the gloves upon an upholstered sofa, not realizing they were ablaze.

Despite the room - and a great portion of the home - erupting in flames, the woman was able to escape with minimal injury. Following her on-site medical assessment by LAFD Paramedics, she was transported in fair condition to Glendale Memorial Hospital for evaluation of minor smoke inhalation.

No other injuries were reported.

Though the home was equipped with smoke alarms, their functional status and role in warning the woman could not be immediately determined. The home was also equipped with regulation compliant window security bars, that were neither a factor nor an impediment to the woman's escape from the 1,731 square-foot home, which was destroyed by the blaze.

Monetary loss is still being tabulated. The cause of the fire is categorized as accidental, and is attributed to the woman's carelessness with fire.

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Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department