Everything We Know About The Boyle Heights Fire
Last Wednesday, a fire started at a cold storage facility in Los Angeles’ Boyle Heights neighborhood. Here’s everything we know about the ongoing blaze.
How Did The Fire Start?
According to KTLA, the fire started last Wednesday at a cold storage facility operated by Lineage Logistics. The company issued a statement last week saying that the fire was likely started while Altus Power, the owner of the solar panel array on the building, was running some tests. The company noted that an official cause for the fire won’t be determined until an investigation is conducted after it’s extinguished.
Why is the first taking so long to put out?
The warehouse is divided into two massive freezers filled with foam insulation. The reason it’s been going on for so long is that the insulation caught fire, causing the fire to spread into hard-to-reach places. While most warehouse fires can be put out within a day, the large amount of insulation means freezer fires typically take days to extinguish.
NPR reports that firefighters have been unable to enter the building due to the dangers posed by the metal floor-to-ceiling shelving racks lining the warehouse. The insulation also prevents the firefighters from quickly ventilating the roof to disperse the smoke and increase visibility inside the warehouse.
The Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) has essentially been tearing the building apart throughout the week to extinguish the fires. While it has taken nearly a week to fully put out the fire, the LAFD has managed to save half the warehouse.
Has anyone been injured?
Thankfully, the fire has been contained to the warehouse, and no one has died or been seriously injured. There have been growing concerns about the impact the fire has had on air quality for people living in the neighborhood surrounding the storage facility.
“It’s been hell,” Consuelo Granadas, 80, a Boyle Heights resident, told the New York Times. “You can’t breathe inside the home. The stink is never-ending.”
While the cold storage facility stored only frozen food, not harmful chemicals, exposure to such a large amount of smoke for a prolonged period is obviously not good for the respiratory health of people in the surrounding area. The South Coast Air Quality Management District has issued an extended particle pollution advisory for the last week.
The city, county, and Lineage Logistics have been working to provide Boyle Heights residents with air purifiers, face masks, food, and water as the blaze continues. City officials have advised nearby residents to stay indoors, turn off their air conditioning, close their windows, and keep their pets in an inside room. If you’re near the fire and have to go outside, officials recommend wearing an N95 or P100 mask.
Is the fire nearly put out?
During a news conference on Monday, LAFD Fire Chief Jaime Moore said he hopes to have the fire fully extinguished by midweek, with the building returned to its owner on Friday. Moore is hopeful that the first could be fully extinguished as soon as Tuesday.
While the Boyle Heights fire has burned for nearly a week, at least there is an end in sight, and, thankfully, it should end without anyone being seriously injured.
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Everything We Know About The Boyle Heights Fire was originally published on newsone.com
