LAFD Vehicle Fire

At 11:35 PM a vehicle fire was reported at 52nd St. and Figueroa in South Los Angeles. Upon arrival I found a well involved Saturn. Shortly after I arrived, LAFD E46 arrived. The crew from E46 deployed a hoseline and while waiting for water, the airbag popped. In the second photo you can see the small explosion. The vehicle was extinguished by the E46 crew in a short time.

Photos by EPN-564

Never Forget

Over the next seven day period, there are three significant "Line of Duty Death" (LODD) anniversaries that we should all remember.

FF/PM Chris Rutledge
10/22/1993 - San Bernardino County Fire - Traffic Collision - Medic in back of ambulance

Captain Mark Loutzenhiser
Firefighter Daniel Hoover-Najera
Engineer Jason McKay
Engineer Jess McLean
Firefighter Pablo Cerda
10/26/2006 - USFS - Engine 57- Esperanza Fire, Cabazon - Burnover

Engineer Steven Rucker

10/29/2003 - Novato Fire Department - Cedar Fire, San Diego - Burnover

In the last days of August of this year several fire units throughout the State were involved in incidents, including an entire camp full of 65 firefighters overrun by fire resulting in the death of two personnel and injury/exposure to many others.

Please take the time to remember those who gave their lives in the performance of their duties. Let's use their sacrifice to learn how we can avoid these incidents in the future.

Charges filed in the 2003 Old Fire

A special grand jury handed down an indictment Tuesday charging a San Bernardino man with five counts of murder for the October 2003 Old Fire that destroyed 940 homes and left several people dead. Rickie Lee Fowler, 28, was also indicted on one count of arson of an inhabited structure and one count of aggravated arson, San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos announced during a press conference Tuesday afternoon. “This has been a long, arduous process,” Ramos said. “The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has worked tirelessly on this investigation. There were many avenues of investigation to be followed and my office has worked closely with the detectives in developing this case of arson and multiple murder, which we intend to prove in court.” The investigation began to gain steam in February 2008 and new evidence was obtained as recently as three weeks ago that allowed prosecutors to identify Fowler as a suspect, Deputy District Attorney Vic Stull said. Another man, Martin Valdez Jr., was also believed to be a suspect but he was shot and killed in Muscoy in 2006. Stull said prosecutors were not sure who actually threw a road flare that started the blaze but are confident they have enough evidence. The indictment came just in time for the last two counts. The statute of limitations on the arson charge expires Sunday. Even if the statute of limitations did expire on the arson charges Ramos said it would make no difference regarding the murder charges, since “there is no statute of limitations on murder.” Those who perished died of heart attacks related to the fire, officials said. During Tuesday’s press conference, Ramos said Fowler may not even know of the grand jury indictment himself yet, as he sits in Lancaster State Prison for a burglary and theft that he committed not long after the Old Fire. The DA’s office started investigating Fowler’s link to the wildfire based on a phone tip, Ramos said, though no other details on the investigation were immediately released. Sheriffs officials will pick Fowler up from Lancaster and bring him to San Bernardino County for his arraignment in about two weeks, according to Ramos. Ramos said they haven’t determined yet whether to seek the death penalty. All of the victims died of “health-related stress” caused by the fire, which burned 940 homes and 142 square miles in the San Bernardino Mountains. The Old fire and the Grand Prix fire began miles apart from each other on different days. The two fires eventually joined together. The fire ran through foothill communities of Devore, Lytle Creek, Del Rosa, Rancho Cucamonga. With a vengeance, it threatened one subdivision after another. The prevailing west winds pushed the fire, threatening the vulnerable forest communities including Crest Forest, Running Springs, Lake Arrowhead, Cedar Glen and Mt. Baldy Village. Finally, the winds died down enough for firefighters to go on the offensive. The fire cost $37.6 million. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Old Fire / Grand Prix Fire Timeline

• Oct. 21, 2003: The Grand Prix fire is reported at 2:22 p.m. in the community of Hunter's Ridge.

• Oct. 24, 2003: Grand Prix grows to 12,600 acres and I-15 and I-210 are closed. Parts of Rancho Cucamonga are evacuated.

• Oct. 25, 2003: The Old Fire is reported at 9:16 a.m. in Waterman Canyon. The fire is at 10,000 acres by 6 p.m. and hundreds of homes are destroyed. Evacuation ordered for Crestline to Lake Arrowhead.

• Oct. 26, 2003: The Old Fire grows to 24,000 acres and destroys more than 300 homes. Grand Prix grows to 52,184 acres and destroys 60 homes. Railroad lines in Cajon Pass and I-215 are closed. The two fires merge into one.

• Oct. 27, 2003: Old Fire grows to 36,780 acres. The fire burns into the Lake Arrowhead area and Running Springs.

• Oct. 29, 2003: Old Fire grows to 47,960 acres. By the end of the day an additional 350 homes are destroyed, 300 in the Cedar Glen area.

• Oct. 30, 2003: Old Fire grows to 91,281 acres. More than 40,000 residents remain evacuated but evacuation orders for the Baldy Mesa and Oak Hills areas are lifted.

• Oct. 31: 2003: Old Fire remains at 91,281 acres. Arson is established as the cause of the fire.

• Nov. 1 to Nov. 4, 2003: Old Fire remains at 91,281 acres but continues to threaten the Lake Arrowhead and Running Springs. Mountain residents begin to return home.

Suspect wanted for questioning in Station Fire arrested for smaller blaze

A suspect wanted for questioning in the Station fire has been arrested and charged with setting a small fire near Angeles Crest Highway, Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said today. Babatunsin Olukunle, a 25-year-old Nigerian national, was arrested Thursday in Lancaster, said Sheriff's Lt. Liam Gallagher. "We are going to talk to him about the Station fire, but we're not going to list him as a suspect [in that fire] just yet," Gallagher said. Olukunle was caught tending a small fire near Marker 36 of the Angeles Crest Highway in the early afternoon of Aug. 20, six days before the start of the Station fire, the largest brush fire in L.A. County history. The fire burned for almost two months and scorched more than 250 square miles. The Station fire probe became a homicide investigation after two firefighters died when their truck fell 800 feet into a ravine as they tried to find an escape route from the flames for fellow firefighters. L.A. County and the state have offered a $150,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the arsonist. The Station fire destroyed dozens of structures. Investigators believe a substance found near the fire’s point of origin helped spread the deadly blaze and it has emerged as a key piece of evidence in the arson probe, a source told The Times. The source would not identify the substance but said it was found in the brush off Angeles Crest Highway, walking distance from the turnoff that is at the center of the arson probe.
-- Andrew Blankstein

LAFD Structure Fire

At approximately 4:28 AM on October 10, a house caught fire in the 4600 block of Mary Ellen St. The fire was well established and through the roof when I arrived. It took 36 firefighters 30 minutes to get control of the blaze. No injuries were reported and the cause in under investigation.
All Photos by EPN-564

LAFD Greater Alarm

 On Saturday, October 10, 2009 at 3:14 AM, 15 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 4 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Arson Unit, 2 Urban Search and Rescue Units, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 2 EMS Battalion Captains, 4 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, under the direction of Assistant Chief Richard Warford responded to a Greater Alarm Structure Fire at 5170 Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood. Firefighters were called to a what appeared to be a two story non-sprinklered commercial building with heavy smoke and no fire visible on the first or second floor. The smoke was originally reported by civilians at a 24 hour Gym next door to the incident. The first arriving fire crews initiated forcible entry and fire attack. As they took handlines into the structure, they later discovered that the building had a third story in the rear not visible from the front.Fire attack teams searched for the origin of the smoke and quickly found that the fire had run the walls up to the third floor. Flames extended to the attic, and were now visible to the roof teams cutting ventilation holes above.The bulk of the blaze was soon discovered there after, as both interior attack teams and roof teams continued a coordinated effort to extinguish the fire. Once the origin was found,108 firefighters made quick work in knocking down the flames in less than one hour, saving a good portion of the building.The establishment was doing business as a medical supply shop with offices and telemarketing on the above floors.There were no civilians in the structure at the time, and no firefighters were injured during the emergency operations. Although Fire Department Investigators were summoned, there is no immediate cause of the early morning blaze.

All Photos by EPN-564

San Bernardino National Forest - Sheep Fire

Ryan Vaccaro and I met at 138 and I-15 and went up to Lone Pine Canyon Rd. and Sawarthout Canyon Rd. The fire was buring in a easterly direction and was still south of Lone Pine Canyon Rd. Winds were steady at about 20 to 25 mph. We tied in with Jeff Zimmerman and a few other members of the EPN. We observed the fire make strong, wind driven runs on both sides of Swarthout Canyon. The wind changed directions and began to push the fire north up Lone Pine Canyon. I managed to get a few photos of a CALFIRE engine strike team trying to hold the fire south of Lone Pine Canyon Rd. It ran right past them. The fire was burning north up Lone Pine Canyon and also to the east. The eastern progression threatened BDF Station 33 at Mormon Rocks for a short period of time. That was the same time the ICP was being relocated to Station 33. A USFS strike team fired out around the station/base camp and migated the threat.

At 23:00 I left for the night and the fire was 2.5 miles south of Clyde Ranch, but burning well and still pushing north towards Wrightwood. I spoke to Ryan again Sunday morning about 05:30 and he let me know it had made it up the canyon alomost to the top. I went back to the fire and picked Ryan up. We went to the head of the fire and saw that it was continuing to push north at a fairly rapid rate occasionally spotting well ahead of the main fire.

When the fire reached Helicopter Hill at the top of Lone Pine Canyon, an all out offensive was put into action. We saw over a dozen dozers, strike teams of engines, hotshot crews and of course plenty of chiefs all working together to keep the fire off of the structures. The dozers were cutting a wide line on both the east and west sides of Lone Pine Canyon Rd. at Helicopter Hill. As the dozer line was progressing the engine crews drove along portions of the line to act as the holding team while the hotshot crews fired out just ahead of the main fire. As soon as the marine layer lifted, aircraft was launched to assist the ground crews. I saw helitankers, fixed wing and drops from Tanker 910. The fire got to within 100 yards of homes