A man has died and a woman was left in critical condition after fireworks “rained down” on a Los Angeles neighborhood, lighting an entire block on fire.
Over 100 firefighters battled the blazes Thursday night after a fireworks explosion set multiple homes on fire in the Pacoima community, around 20 miles north of the city.
A 30-year-old man was found dead at the scene of the incident, the department reported, adding that a 33-year-old woman had been left in critical condition, and a 68-year-old woman had been treated for smoke inhalation, according to the LAFD. The name of the man has not been released.
By the time officers arrived, three one-story homes were on fire, with fireworks that were inside a detached garage “actively detonating” and threatening to set more houses and brush in the area alight.
“This structure fire also was involving a significant amount of fireworks that were being stored there and these fireworks were raining all upon the neighborhood,” said David Ortiz, LAFD’s public information officer.
Several animals were also reportedly injured in the incident.
LAFD HazMat and arson investigators, along with the LAPD Bomb Squad and the Mayor’s Crisis Team, responded to the scene.
“Many [fireworks] are being sold out of people’s private garages and private residences… by folks that really don’t know how to handle fireworks,” said Ortiz. “Especially when they’re fireworks that have been stored for a long time and they crystalize, they can start some burn on their own.”
“We need to change that culture to one where folks go to see a professional show. Southern California is not really a safe place to detonate these fireworks, they’re very powerful and can start fires.”
Ortiz added that the dry vegetation in the area could also add to risk of blazes getting out of control.
The explosion in Pacoima came just hours after another deadly incident involving fireworks earlier in the day in Simi Valley.
“We are encouraging people to leave the fireworks to the professionals,” said Ortiz.
“I felt almost like the impact, you feel it. And as soon as I heard that, I turned down the street to see if anyone needed help and more fireworks started going off,” a Pacoima resident told ABC7. “It felt like an explosion…the fireworks started going off and sooner or later all these fires started coming.”
