On Monday, September 3, at 9:18 PM, 12 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 4 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Arson Unit, 1 Urban Search and Rescue Unit, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 2 EMS Battalion Captains, 3 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams and 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, a total of 87 Los Angeles Fire Department personnel under the direction of Assistant Chief Jeffery S. Mottram, responded to a Greater Alarm Structure Fire at 6955 Hayvenhurst Avenue in Van Nuys.

Summoned by a passerby, Firefighters arrived quickly to find smoke showing from the roof of a two-story industrial building, with no evidence of fire alarm activation.

Forcing entry, LAFD crews made their way to the core of the non-fire sprinklered warehouse to discover intense flames in an enclosed storeroom.

Noting the omnipresence of exotic reptiles including snakes within the building, Firefighters commenced a well-coordinated interior fire attack from the east and west with a pair of handlines, allowing them to safely and effectively hold the blaze in check as a mezzanine expectedly collapsed upon itself.

The precise confinement and knockdown of the flames took Firefighters just 25 minutes.

With the fire extinguished, Firefighters deployed powerful ventilation fans at key points around the building to provided large volumes of fresh air to the reptiles, which escaped the fire unscathed.

As the strategic horizontal ventilation cleared smoke from the building, Firefighters noted the presence of a green liquid in water runoff within the structure. The anomalous liquid was soon determined to be a benign food coloring utilized in the on-site processing of pet food.

No firefighter injuries were reported.

Loss from the blaze is estimated at $150,000 ($75,000 structure & $75,000 contents). The cause of the fire remains under investigation.