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Tag: hazardous fire

  • Crews battle hazardous fire on cargo ship in San Pedro, major emergency declared

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    A major emergency was declared at the Port of Los Angeles on Friday night as 186 firefighters worked to combat a massive and stubborn blaze involving hazardous materials on a cargo ship, authorities said.

    An electrical fire was reported below deck of the 1,100-foot container ship 1 Henry Hudson at 6:38 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. An explosion rattled the boat just before 8 p.m., affecting power to lights and cranes, authorities said.

    Hazardous materials are in several of the cargo containers involved in the blaze and all firefighters are wearing protective suits and oxygen masks, according to LAFD. Specially trained hazardous materials crews are monitoring air quality as efforts continue to suppress the fire in the ship’s sub-levels.

    Marine crews are working to cool the outside of the ship to make conditions on the boat more tenable for firefighting crews. As of 8 p.m., incident command had instructed that no firefighting members go below deck.

    At that time progress on containment remained slow, according to LAFD. The ship did not appear to be sinking despite a large amount of water being used to fight the fire.

    Drones were being used to acquire thermal imaging of the blaze and assist the emergency response, authorities said.

    Earlier in the evening, authorities said six of the boat’s crew members were unaccounted for. At 8:30 p.m., LAFD confirmed that all 23 crew members had been found and safely assisted off the ship. No injuries have been reported.

    The California Highway Patrol announced at 10:30 p.m. that the Vincent Thomas Bridge, a main access point to the port’s terminals, would be closed until further notice due to the fire. Drivers are advised to avoid the area and follow detour routes.

    The U.S. Coast Guard also responded to the incident and established a safety perimeter of one nautical mile around the vessel.

    The cargo ship sails under the flag of Panama and arrived in the Port of L.A. on Wednesday after traveling from Tokyo, according to Vessel Finder.

    In a statement on X, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said the city is continuing to monitor the incident closely. Gov. Gavin Newsom was briefed on the incident and his office is coordinating with local authorities to support the emergency response, officials said.

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    Clara Harter

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  • More than 100 firefighters battle hazardous blaze at General Motors in Pasadena

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    More than 100 firefighters and a hazardous materials team were working Wednesday night to combat a fire involving lithium ion batteries and prototype cars at General Motors’ design studio in Pasadena, authorities said.

    At one point, a firefighter was trapped in the structure amid the ferocious blaze and sent out a mayday call.

    The Pasadena Fire Department responded to the fire in the 600 block of Sierra Madre Villa Avenue at 5:50 p.m., according to department spokesperson Lisa Derderian. The incident was declared a four-alarm fire — signifying a catastrophic blaze that requires the mobilization of significant fire department resources — due to the scale of the structure and the hazardous materials involved.

    A firefighter is among dozens battling a fire Wednesday at the General Motors design studio in Pasadena.

    (Hon Wing Chiu / For The Times)

    “This is one of the largest structure fires we’ve had in Pasadena in many, many years,” Derderian said.

    Preliminary reports indicated that lithium ion batteries and concept cars burned inside the building; however, the incident remained active Wednesday evening, and the cause of the fire is under investigation, she said. Some of the burned cars appeared to be gasoline-powered vehicles.

    It took firefighters more than an hour to track down the source of the blaze as thick smoke engulfed the 149,000-square-foot campus. General Motors invested more than $71 million in 2021 to build the three-building facility as a new base for its Advanced Design Center.

    The blaze is challenging to combat as crews cannot use water to extinguish lithium ion battery fires. Doing so can cause a destabilizing chemical reaction, leading more batteries to catch fire or explode.

    “Firefighters on scene have trained in scenarios like this, but it does put a different twist on extinguishing fires,” Derderian said.

    Large lithium ion battery fires can take several hours or even days to render safe.

    Firefighters are seen at the General Motors design studio after a fire on Wednesday

    The fire burned lithium ion batteries and concept cars at the General Motors facility, officials said.

    (Hon Wing Chiu / For The Times)

    When one battery cell overheats, it can trigger a chain reaction where nearby cells also overheat. This reaction releases heat and toxic gases and can continue deep inside the battery pack long after visible flames are put out.

    There was a mayday call when a firefighter became trapped inside the fire-engulfed building Wednesday evening. But fire crews were able to locate him and pull him out of the structure without injuries.

    “He did not wish to be transported [to a hospital], but it was a very scary few minutes there until they determined that he was OK,” Derderian said.

    Fire crews are searching the entire campus to ensure there is no one else trapped inside, she said. Crews will remain on scene overnight as they continue to deal with the hazardous materials involved in the blaze.

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    Clara Harter

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