Local and federal authorities continue investigations into the explosion in Wilmington that left nine firefighters injured, seven of whom have already been released and two remain hospitalized. Due to the severity of their injuries, one of them, 37 years old and nine with the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD), was airlifted to a burn center to receive specialized care, according to Captain Erik Scott.
The firefighter is being treated in the intensive care unit of the General Hospital Burn Center, according to Nicholas Prange, spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire Department.
“All nine firefighters are out of service due to their injuries,” Prange said. “Currently, two firefighters remain admitted to the hospital. One of them has been stabilized in the ICU of the Los Angeles General Hospital Burn Center, but remains in critical condition. The other is admitted for observation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.”
The other seven firefighters have been released from the hospital and will receive ongoing treatment and support to begin the recovery process. The types of injuries they received included burns, blunt force trauma, shrapnel, concussion, and hearing impairment.
Firefighters were putting out a fire in a compressed natural gas (CNG) truck when one of the two 100-gallon CNG fuel tanks, pressurized to less than 3,300 pounds of pressure (PSI), exploded. The tanks are mounted on each side of the vehicle for ignition.
In accordance with LAFD protocols, a crew of ten firefighters had been dispatched Thursday morning to extinguish the fire of a tractor-trailer without a trailer. Around 7:04 a.m., one of the tanks exploded, injuring firefighters.
The woman driving the vehicle called 911. She had detected “some anomalies with the tanks and got out of the vehicle,” Scott said. She did not suffer injuries.
emergency response
The remains of the detonated cylinder were found hundreds of meters away, at the intersection of Alameda Street and Henry Ford Avenue.
The remaining cylinder of compressed natural gas burned for hours, slowly releasing the contents of the flammable gas after becoming damaged.
LAFD Hazardous Materials (HazMat) specialists responded to the disaster scene and crews on scene expanded the “exclusion zone” radius to 500 feet, to prevent first responders and bystanders from being injured if a second incident occurred. burst. Neighborhoods and nearby businesses were temporarily advised to remain indoors and subsequently assisted in evacuating until the second fuel cylinder was removed from the site. A shelter was established at the Wilmington Senior Center at 1371 Eubank Avenue.
HazMat teams continued to monitor the atmosphere, continually confirming that there was no toxic hazard in the air at any time. LAFD’s firefighting robot, “Thermite RS3,” responded and was able to remotely apply water to cool the remaining cylinder, without putting personnel at risk. Crews continued to keep pedestrians and motorists away from the site throughout the day while monitoring the scene.
In total, more than 150 firefighters responded to this emergency incident.
They return to their normal work
“Until now we have not made the calculations of the losses,” said Roberto Lara, administrative assistant at the Wilmington Recyclers company, where several office windows and the establishment’s iron curtains suffered serious damage. “Luckily none of the workers were there at the time of the explosion, since they enter at 7:30 am” The explosion occurred at 6:58 am
After two days without work, on Saturday the 13 employees returned to work.
“When I arrived on Thursday, this place was full of firefighters and police officers,” Bryan Flores, 20, described to La Opinión. “They sent us home and I took advantage of the time to help my mother clean the house.”
HTL, the company has a headquarters in the city of Carson where its compressed natural gas trucks are supplied, stated that “it is aware of the explosion of one of our compressed natural gas (CNG) trucks in Wilmington, California, in the morning. on Thursday, February 15.”
“We thank the firefighters who responded to the scene and our thoughts are with those who were injured while trying to ensure the safety of others,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
In the disaster area and a few meters away, Carlos Hernández, a Salvadoran security guard for the B&L Drayage company, where dozens of tractor-trailers park, said that on the day of the explosion “I felt like my life was going away.”
‘I only heard a huge bang and I tried to get to safety,’ he said, while inspecting an office window that had broken glass.
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Replacement of diesel trucks
In October 2021, Vic La Rosa, president and founder of the company Total Transportation Services (TTSI) said that, after decades of development, the time had come for hydrogen fuel battery vehicles.
“It has been one of the hottest topics in the clean transportation sector over the past 24 months, and major commercial vehicle, commercial vehicle and component suppliers are making significant investments in commercial vehicles (OEMs/Original Equipment Manufacturers, for example). its acronym in English), infrastructure and fuel providers, and many others in the value chain,” said Vic La Rosa, CEO and founder of TTSI
TTSI said it would replace 15 diesel trucks with compressed natural gas (CNG). The company appears to have clean records with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, although it was unclear whether subsidiaries have had incidents similar to what happened Thursday morning in Wilmington, along the 1100 block, north of St. Mall. Their goal is to have a fleet of zero-emission trucks that benefits their customers and the environment.
TTSI operates a fleet of zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell trucks and near-zero-emission hybrid CNG (Compressed Natural Gas), LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) and battery-electric trucks.