On Tuesday, February 12, at 3:53 AM, 14 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 4 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 1 Arson Unit, 2 Urban Search and Rescue Units, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 2 EMS Battalion Captains, 5 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, DOT and LAPD, all under the direction of Battalion Chief John Vidovich, responded to a Greater Alarm Structure Fire at 133 S. La Fayette Park Pl. in the Mid-Town area.
Several 911 calls into the OCD Dispatch Center, confirmed that there was a fire in the Mid Wilshire area of the city. The first arriving Fire Department resources on scene, found one unit in the front of a two story, center hall apartment building, with heavy fire and smoke showing. An immediate request for additional companies was initiated, as well as LAPD to assist with crowd control. Because of the heavy smoke and fire in the hallway, two residents unable to exit the building were rescued from their second floor window via ground ladder by Fire personnel. As companies deployed hoselines to extinguish the fire, other Fire resources were searching the upper floor for other residents and assisted them with evacuation from the building.
There were 2 patients as a result of the incident, a male 36 and a female 6, who complained of smoke inhalation. Both declined transport after being treated by the Medical Group. No other injuries were reported. It took the aggressive actions of approximately 105 Firefighters to knockdown the fire in only 17 minutes. The cause is under investigation. The dollar loss was estimated to be $120,000, [$100,000 structure and $20,000 contents]. The Red Cross was notified to assist three adult males with their housing needs.