Several Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters were injured after an explosion involving a natural gas truck happened in the Wilmington area Thursday morning.
Authorities said at least nine firefighters were injured and taken to the hospital, two are in critical condition. The semi-truck driver was not injured.
“The firefighters were evaluated for several burn, blast and airway inhalation injuries,” said Dr. Molly Deane, trauma surgeon at Harbor UCLA Medical Center.
One of the critically injured firefighters required intubation to deliver oxygen to their lungs and was transferred to Los Angeles General Medical Center where a special Burn Center unit is located.
Dr. Deane adds that after seeing video of the explosion, “it’s remarkable none of them were more severely injured.”
The dramatic explosion was caught by a resident’s Ring camera who lived nearby.
Firefighters originally responded to a semi-truck fire in the 1100 block of North Alameda Street near Henry Ford Avenue around 7 a.m. The semi-truck was running on two 100-gallon tanks of compressed natural gas, instead of diesel fuel.
When crews approached the truck to put out the flames, one of the tanks exploded due to pressurized cylinders. The blast happened about six minutes after firefighters arrived to the scene.
The second tank did not explode and is a minor threat since the tank is still emitting gas, said Erik Scott, Los Angeles City Fire Captain. LAFD Hazard material specialist was at the scene to monitor the air and firefighters set up a 500-foot perimeter around the location of the blast.
Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley spoke at press conference after she visited with the firefighters injured in the explosion and said it was something she will never forget.
Crowley continued to say how she is “reminded of how heroic our members are and that each and every day they are putting themselves in harm’s way to provide an incredible level of expertise and professionalism to the people that we serve.”
Fire officials said it was unclear how the semi-truck fire started before the explosion and the incident remains under investigation.
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