On Friday, April 4, 2008 at 6:44 AM, 5 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 4 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 3 Arson Units, 1 EMS Battalion Captain, 1 Battalion Chief Officer Command Team, under the direction of Battalion Chief Antoine McKnight responded to a Structure Fire at 1258 W. 55th St. in the Hyde Park area.

A frantic 9-1-1 call into the OCD Dispatch center indicated that a working fire was in progress and that there was at least two people trapped inside the dwelling. The caller, one of the occupants, was awakened by the inability to breathe because of the heavy presence of smoke, tried to exit, only to find the hallway smoke filled. She then hid in a closet and dialed 9-1-1. The OCD Dispatcher, after finding out the occupant was reluctant to leave the closet because of the smoke, stayed on the line trying to keep her calm until rescuers arrived on scene.

Fire resources arrived to find a one story, single family dwelling with heavy smoke and fire showing from the front of the structure. During the primary search, Fire personnel found a male, 89, who was lifeless and unresponsive. The advance warning of "people trapped" assisted the adrenaline charged Firefighters in quickly locating the 66 year old female occupant, deploying hose lines and initiating an aggressive roof ventilation operation to gain control of the fire.

It took 39 Firefighters 14 minutes to extinguish the blaze. The cause and dollar loss estimate are undetermined until the completion of the fire investigation. The heavily barred residence and the absence of working smoke detectors possibly contributed to the demise of the 89 year old male occupant.

Submitted by d'Lisa Davies
Los Angeles Fire Department