A fire broke out in the building at 231 E. 87th Place within the Broadway-Manchester neighborhood of Los Angeles (LA), taking less than an hour to extinguish. No injuries have been reported as of yet, as the fire seemed to strike with little to no one in the building. This is just one of many occurrences of fires throughout the city, with the most recent being the Reseda Fire at the South Seas apartment complex.

The fire was first reported on Apr. 16 at about 5:18 p.m., with multiple calls all coming in anxiously at once. The LA Fire Department (LAFD), ready for moments like this, quickly and efficiently got ready to put out the fire. Almost 90 members of the LAFD were present at one time or another to try and end the fire and salvage what was left, all of them working in conjunction with one another as if this was just another one of their drills.

In addition to the traditional uses of a large hose, fire trucks, and protective armor, firefighters could be seen using chainsaws on the roof to cut into the building and getting multiple points of entry to further stop the spread of flames. Freshman Rohan Thakur especially was surprised by the use of only classical equipment.

“Even though the usual fire department equipment is helpful, I’m surprised many of the firefighters didn’t use new and innovative tools to stop the fire from spreading. They protect buildings and all, but could work with using new items to make fire prevention even more prevalent.”

The LAFD released an official statement on the fire, reporting that the building hit was a split duplex, or one large building that has been split into two or more smaller separate buildings to accommodate more groups of people. This played into how the LAFD approached handling the fire, choosing to split teams up between the sides, middle, and rooftop of the complex. While there is no current knowledge of what started the fire, the building was under construction and so any possible mishaps or fuel left out for industrial machines could have been a key factor in what caused the destruction. An official later reported that the framing and wrap of the building’s construction played a major role in dealing with the fire. 

The LAFD released that they are “currently investigating the cause of the fire,” and this is most likely to prevent more fires in the greater Los Angeles area as well as spot and fix any major issues with the building as a whole.

Freshman Swarit Srivastava mentioned in response to the fire that he feels “great compassion and hope for anyone affected by the fire.” He applauded the LAFD for their work and “believes they will continue to protect Los Angeles’ streets.”

While news of the fire is frightening to some, it’s important to note that the crew sent in by the LAFD was able to put out the whole thing in under an hour, highlighting the speed and expertise with which the LAFD service members have.

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