On Tuesday, September 28, 2010 at 2:14 AM, 12 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 6 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Arson Unit, 1 Urban Search and Rescue Unit, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 1 EMS Battalion Captain, 2 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, 1 Division Officer Command Team and 1 Rehab Air Tender under the direction of Battalion Chief Fred J. Mathis responded to an explosion at 1127 West Wilshire Boulevard in Pico/Union.

Firefighters responded to an automatic alarm at Samaritan Medical Tower, a 15-story commercial high-rise building. As Firefighters assessed the building they noticed the lobby glass doors were blown out, ceiling tiles were broken inside, and there was a large power outage. Even though there were signs of an explosion, there were no signs of a fire. Concerned with the potential of a bomb threat, additional assistance was requested including LAPD, DWP, Haz-Mat and USAR. After the possibility of a bomb threat diminished, and the structural integrity of the 64 year-old building was ensured, Firefighters were able to safely reenter the building. Smoke was noticed, and a small but stubborn fire was battled on the first-floor.

Firefighters performed a lengthy and detailed search through the 175,000 sq-foot building, fortunately no victims were found and no one was injured. Just after two and a half hours, 88 Firefighters declared a Knockdown. The dollar loss is estimated at $200,000 ($150,000 structure and $50,000 contents). The cause of the fire was from an underground vault explosion.

Submitted by Erik Scott, Spokesman
Los Angeles Fire Department