On Tuesday, March 14, 2006 at 9:19 p.m., 13 companies of Los Angeles firefighters, five LAFD rescue ambulances, one arson unit, two EMS battalion captains, two battalion chief officer command teams, and one division chief officer command team, under the direction of
Battalion Chief Timothy Kerbrat responded to a barricaded suspect at 33rd Street and Grand Ave. in the Exposition Park area.
The Los Angeles Fire Department was requested by the LAPD to stand by during a barricaded suspect situation. Police negotiators were
attempting to deal with a twenty-nine year old male who had barricaded himself in one unit of a residential four-plex, shot at police and threatened to set himself on fire. The suspect indicated that he was prepared to remove a natural gas line within the building and ignite the building on fire.
Incident commanders prepared for the possible conflagration by implementing various aspects of the ICS (Incident Command System). A
“Structure Protection Group” and a “Medical Group” were established during the preparation phase of the incident. Various fire and medical resources were assigned to each group and deployed to staging areas that would provide the most optimal response for that particular groups function.
In addition to preparing fire department resources, incident commanders requested assistance from other agencies, including DOT (Department of Transportation) and the Southern California Gas Company. The building inventory records maintained by the local fire station were analyzed to prepare the best plans possible to mitigate the situation should a fire occur.
LAPD SWAT Officers were able to successfully subdue and remove the suspect from the building prior to any conflagration occurring. The
suspect exited the building after tear gas was introduced into the structure. The suspect was combative and was subdued by SWAT officers
and a police dog. The man was taken into custody at midnight and fire department resources were released from the incident.
Fortunately, the incident concluded without damage to any structures or injuries. The suspect suffered a small dog bite and was transported by fire department ambulance to a local hospital for evaluation. In all, 84 firefighters and paramedics were deployed for three and a half hours, prepared to control any situation that may have occurred.