11 firefighters injured in Los Angeles battling blaze

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Eleven firefighters were injured, three of them critically, in downtown Los Angeles when a fire in a commercial smoke shop sparked a major explosion and spread to nearby structures on Saturday evening, officials said.

Crews had entered the building to battle what was initially thought to be a minor blaze when they noticed that the smoke pressure was escalating and decided to evacuate, Los Angeles Fire Department chief Ralph Terrazas told reporters.

He said the blast occurred as the firefighters were leaving the building from the roof and the ground floor.

“A witness account is that our firefighters came down the aerial ladder from the roof with their turnout coats on fire,’’ Terrazas said.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said three firefighters had critical but not life-threatening injuries and another had serious injuries, while the remainder had varying degrees of burns.

Fire officials said the building where the blast occurred housed a business — Smoke Totes Wholesale Distribution — that sold smoking and vaping paraphernalia and supplied other businesses that make butane honey oil, a highly flammable resin used for inhaling marijuana.