The Guardian (USA)

Los Angeles firefighte­rs rushed to hospital after huge truck explosion

- Associated Press

A truck’s fuel tank exploded on Thursday in a Los Angeles neighborho­od, sending a fireball into the air and injuring nine of the 10 firefighte­rs responding to the blaze, including two critically, fire officials said.

All nine firefighte­rs were rushed to Harbor-UCLA medical center and were stabilized, and one of the critical patients had to be intubated and airlifted to a burn unit at Los Angeles General medical center, said Dr Molly Deane, a trauma surgeon.

Of the others who were injured, four suffered moderate injuries and three had minor injuries, Deane said.

“Frankly, it’s remarkable that none of them are more severely injured after watching the footage,” Deane said. “Most people should do fairly well.”

The driver of the truck escaped injury after noticing something was awry with the big rig’s tractor and stepped away to call 911, officials said.

The tractor was fueled by compressed natural gas carried in two 100gallon (378-liter) tanks, one of which exploded six minutes after firefighte­rs arrived on the scene in Wilmington. The neighborho­od is 18 miles (29 km) south of downtown, near the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Deane spoke outside the medical center at a news conference with the fire chief and Karen Bass, the mayor, who said it was “a difficult day in Los Angeles”.

TV news helicopter video showed charred and mangled parts of the truck with a small flame still burning, along with discarded firefighti­ng gear where the injured crew members were initially treated.

“The ball of flame was as high as these telephone poles, and it actually did explode one of the transforme­rs nearby,” the fire captain Erik Scott said, adding that the second fuel tank was “still off-gassing, and therefore there’s a minor threat”.

The blast occurred adjacent to an industrial area separated from a neighborho­od by a wide street and a rail line. No homes were in danger, Scott said, though a large perimeter was set up after the explosion and some 160 fire

fighters responded.

“Today is a day, I think, where all of us can take a moment to recognize how intrinsica­lly dangerous firefighti­ng can be,” said Kristin Crowley, the fire chief.

She said her department would review their response.

“This team is highly trained and it will look at every single aspect of this incident and gather the opportunit­ies for improvemen­t and lessons learned,” she said.

 ?? ?? The damaged big rig in the Wilmington neighborho­od of Los Angeles. Photograph: Eric Thayer/AP
The damaged big rig in the Wilmington neighborho­od of Los Angeles. Photograph: Eric Thayer/AP

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