Los Angeles Fire Department Rescues Family From Blaze As Recruitment Criticism Continues

Questions swirled around a family of four on New Year’s Eve, after they were rescued from a commercial building blaze by the Los Angeles Fire Department in the Florence neighborhood of South Los Angeles. The emergency call reportedly prompted a major response from the department, with 15 companies comprising 116 firefighters attending the scene at around 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening.

The situation confronted by the Los Angeles Fire Department on arrival at the 6000 block of South Broadway quickly became life-threatening, as the family was found to be trapped inside the non-residential building behind security bars and fences. Fire Chief Don Frazeur explained to assembled reporters the difficulties faced by his teams.

“The most challenging parts were the access to the front. We have heavy security bars, both front and rear. The fact that there’s no access on the side means you have to make an approach from the front and rear.”

Despite the challenges, the Los Angeles Fire Department managed to rescue the family – a man, a woman, a young child, and a toddler – before any of them sustained major injury. The group were transported to a local hospital, where they were treated for smoke inhalation.

When approached for comment at the scene, the man appeared stunned, answering simply, “I really can’t know what happened right now.”

It remains unclear as to why the family were inside the building, and what may have started the blaze.

The Los Angeles Times reported that the 6,400 square-foot building — which is registered to an upholstery business — suffered structural damage in the blaze, although firefighters managed to extinguish the flames in 31 minutes. As local people gathered in the area, it was noted by Los Angeles store owner Leon Singleton that the strategies employed by the Fire Department had worked to protect surrounding businesses.

“My shop is right there, but the fire was there and they were trying to keep it from coming this way, but it was really moving down, you know.”

The incident comes at the end of a busy month for the department, which saw around 250 of its firefighters face a seven-story inferno, when an apartment building that was under construction was destroyed by fire early in December. The emergency incidents have played out against a backdrop of criticism surrounding the recruitment policies of the Los Angeles Fire Department, as the effects of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s overhaul of hiring processes have faced public assessment.

Having attempted to take steps to rectify recruitment processes that were found to heavily feature nepotism and mismanagement – leading to legal wrangling surrounding claims of sexism and racism – an analysis of a new class of 43 trainees was found to include just four women, with the ethnicity of the class being 49 percent white. Addressing the latest analysis, reported by the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Peter Sanders acknowledged progress, stating, “The numbers here reflect a step in the right direction.”

[Image via The Los Angeles Times]