On Monday, three companies of Los Angeles firefighters, two LAFD rescue ambulances, one hazardous materials team, one EMS battalion captain, one battalion chief officer command team and one division chief officer command team, a total of 28 Los Angeles Fire Department personnel under the direction of Battalion Chief Kwame Cooper, responded to a explosion with injury near 637 East 3rd Street in the Little Tokyo District of downtown Los Angeles.
A uniformed male Los Angeles Police Department Officer in a marked patrol unit was driving on East 3rd Street near Alameda Street when he noticed light smoke coming from a manhole cover in the roadway. The Police Officer called for routine LAFD response, and Firefighters were on scene in less than five minutes.
As the LAFD Engine Company arrived, the Officer drove to the Fire Department's location and parked his patrol car to block traffic — and by happenstance, parked atop a distant manhole.
Moments after he exited his patrol car to speak with firefighters, an explosion occurred within the manhole the officer had inadvertently parked above.
The forceful explosion — described as thunderous by witnesses, damaged the undercarriage of his Ford Crown Victoria, but there was no fire. The officer was not struck by any debris, but did complain of back pain, for which he was taken by ambulance to an area hospital in good condition.
Third Street remained closed between Alameda and Central during the late afternoon and evening hours as the Los Angeles Police Department and Department of Water and Power investigated the cause of what appears to be a spontaneous matter within the utility agency's domain.
