On Friday, November 16, at 6:19 AM, 17 Companies of Los Angeles Firefighters, 6 LAFD Rescue Ambulances, 8 Arson Units, 2 Urban Search and Rescue Units, 1 Hazardous Materials Team, 2 EMS Battalion Captains, 3 Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, 1 Division Chief Officer Command Team, and 1 CERT Coordinator all under the direction of Battalion Chief Chris Logan responded to a Major Emergency Structure Fire at 1977 N. Nolden St. in Eagle Rock.
First arriving firefighters discovered a two-story single-family home well involved in fire and an adjacent single-family home with fire showing. The fire, located in an area of heavy vegetation had began to extend into the surrounding brush, threatening additional structures. In addition to the heavy volume of fire,
Firefighters were receiving reports of two people that were unaccounted for and possibly trapped inside one of the structures. Firefighting efforts were concentrated on preventing the spread of the fire into adjacent homes and containing the fire to the structures already involved.
As these efforts progressed, search and rescue operations were simultaneously conducted in an effort to locate the individuals that were unaccounted for.
After the fire was extinguished, an eighty-four year-old male was discovered inside the gutted home and declared dead at the scene. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s office, using a cadaver dog, assisted in searching the structure for the second person reported missing.
Fortunately, after a thorough search, the individual returned to the scene and was accounted for unharmed. The cause of the fire and the circumstances surrounding the fatality are under investigation. The dollar loss is still being tabulated. One home was destroyed, one home suffered extensive damage, and on outbuilding was damaged.