Fire Claims Life in South Los Angeles

On Tuesday, April 17, 2007 at 2:19 PM, 5 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 2 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 2 Arson Units, 1 EMS Battalion Captain, 1 Battalion Chief Officer Command Team and 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, a total of 36 Los Angeles Fire Department personnel under the direction of Acting Battalion Chief Craig Mittry, responded to a Civilian Fatality Structure Fire at 10924 South Figueroa Street in South Los Angeles.

Firefighters arrived quickly to discover heavy smoke and fire showing from the upper floor of a ten-unit two-story garden style apartment building. As their colleagues made their way to the roof to perform essential vertical ventilation, Firefighters forced entry through a security screen door to find heavy fire in the apartment's one bedroom.

During search efforts that took place during a tenacious attack on the fire, Firefighters discovered a 72 year-old male in the burning bedroom. Without vital signs of life and having sustained severe burn injury, he was declared deceased at the scene.

The flames were briskly confined within the unit of fire origin in the northeast corner of the building, and extinguished in less than ten minutes.

No other injuries were reported.

Hardwired smoke alarms within the apartment had been tested within the past month by building management, and the devices were deemed functional at the time of the blaze. The building was not equipped with fire sprinklers.

While there were no obvious physical factors to have impaired the man's egress, poor housekeeping was believed to have led to rapid fire spread.

Monetary loss from the fire was limited to $18,000 ($10,000 structure & $8,000 contents).

A positive identity of the deceased man, as well as the exact cause, time and manner of his death will be determined by the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.

Though the man's smoking habit remains a concern of Investigators, the specific cause of the blaze is under investigation.

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Submitted by Brian Humphrey, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department