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Los Angeles Fire�ghters Injured in CNG Blast are Improving

Spokesman Erik Scott said the last Los Angeles firefighter in the hospital was taken off a ventilator and is now
awake.
By Mackenzie Mays
Source Los Angeles Times

Feb. 18, 2024

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A Los Angeles Fire Department investigator works at the the scene of a truck explosion that injured
nine �re�ghters, two critically injured Thursday. All but one of the �re�ghters has been released from
the hospital.

Two members of the Los Angeles Fire Department are "making

progress" after sustaining critical injuries while fighting a semi-truck fire
that led to an explosion on Thursday, according to a department
spokesperson.

Nine firefighters were injured in Wilmington by the catastrophic

explosion of a tank of compressed natural gas used to power the truck,
including two who were hospitalized, fire officials said.

One of those firefighters was discharged Friday night, and another is

"critical but stable" and remains in the intensive care unit at Los Angeles
General Medical Center, which operates a burn unit, Los Angeles Fire
Department Public Information Officer Erik Scott said in a statement
Saturday.

The latter firefighter has been taken off a ventilator, Scott said.

"With a happy heart and a sense of relief, we are pleased to report that

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our most injured #LAFD #Firefighter was successfully extubated this

morning. He is awake, alert and talking. Next steps will be to introduce
food as tolerated," Scott posted to X.

The other seven firefighters "have various medical appointments and

remain off duty due to their injuries," Scott said. Some of the firefighters
sustained burns, blunt-force trauma, injuries from shrapnel and hearing
problems from the explosion, he said.

The cause of the explosion, which shot 30-foot flames into the air early
Thursday morning at 1120 Alameda St., is still under investigation.

Firefighters responded after receiving a call that the truck had caught
fire. The driver was unharmed and told officials she stopped driving after
noticing "abnormalities" with the vehicle.

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