Los Angeles Fire Department
10/20/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/20/2024 21:41
Storage Yard Blaze in North Hollywood
With a massive plume of black smoke visible across the Valley, firefighters battled for an hour to quell an outside fire consuming materials used to make props for the entertainment industry.
At 3:54PM on October 20, 2024 the Los Angeles City Fire Department responded to the 11100 block of W Vanowen Street in North Hollywood for a reported structure fire. Upon arrival, firefighters found heavy fire in a storage yard, exposing a commercial building.
The building, doing business as a prop building company, was placarded with National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 704, Standard - often referred to as "NFPA hazard diamond". The placards provide emergency responders with critical information, at a quick glance, about the contents of structure/container. The building showed a "2" in the blue, "3" in red, "4" in yellow and "OXY" in the white, which could add significant complexity to an incident were the fire to extend into the structure.
Firefighters cut gates for access and maneuvered fire apparatus through the grounds to reach the fire. They immediately deployed heavy streams, using portable monitors and handlines to get copious amounts of water flowing.
The large yard was filled with unknown stored goods which created a very dark smoke and colored water run-off. Due to the potential for a hazardous materials component, the Incident Commander requested the LAFD Hazardous Materials Squad. These HazMat Squads are staffed with firefighters who achieve specialty certification in hazard identification, technical advising, entry into hazardous atmospheres, specialized mitigation and technical decontamination.
While crews continued to battle the fire, the HazMat Squad confirmed the run off was from ordinary combustibles and nothing posing a hazardous threat.
56 minutes into the incident, the 50 firefighters on scene, operating under the command of Assistant Chief William Peralta, achieved a knockdown of the fire with no injuries reported. The quick and aggressive actions of the firefighter prevented the fire from extending to the building, averting a potentially far more serious situation.
In order to ensure the fire was fully extinguished, the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority foam tender, stationed at the Hollywood Burbank Airport just next to the incident, responded to a mutual aid request. They supplied LAFD engines with plentiful foam to more effectively address any remaining hot spots.
As crews completed their work, all firefighters underwent a decontamination operation to wash their protective gear of any remaining contaminants.