With at least five broken windows, the Argomaniz family, still shocked by the spectacular noise that occurred the night before, wondered on Thursday morning who was going to take charge of the damage.
“We still haven’t moved the glass because I don’t know if we should do it or not,” said María Magdalena Argomaniz, patriarch of the family, as she showed the glass on one of the beds. His house is on the corner of the streets 27 and Stanford, a few houses from where thousands of pounds of illegal pyrotechnics were stored in South Los Angeles.
An anonymous call alerted authorities on Wednesday and when they arrived shortly before noon they began to seize about 5, 000 pounds of illegal fireworks that were apparently going to be sold for the weekend July 4th.
After seeing that it would be very dangerous to move some unstable explosives that were next to the fireworks, the authorities decided to make a planned explosion inside a containment vehicle designed for that purpose.
However, something went wrong in the process that got out of control, said Michael Moore, chief of the Los Angeles police (LAPD) at a press conference.
The explosion seriously damaged the bomb squad truck, as well as several vehicles at the around and left at least 17 injured, including 10 officers.
The Argomaniz said they knew only by sight the young man who is being accused of having illegal fireworks but they didn’t talk to him. They indicated that there was a child in the house of about 10 years old.
“We didn’t even know that there was so much pyrotechnic fire in full sunlight,” said Juan Argomaniz, patriarch of the family. “Those were pure altered .”
The couple said that shortly before the detonation, LAPD agents went to the houses warning what was going to happen but did not force them to evacuate or go into their houses. So they, like dozens of families, decided to stay outside and watch the alleged controlled explosion from a distance.
“We only heard that They started saying like 3, 2, 1 or something like that, ”said Maria. “And when the explosion was heard, even my daughter, with special needs, began to cry and was desperate.”
“I even feel that my back was hurt so hard that it rang and I turned around hard backwards, ”added Juan. “What happened was to block the entire block, that truck was not designed to hold so much.”
The family said they ran to their home where another member of the family was who told them that the glass of one of the windows had fallen on him.
Images a few minutes after the explosion showed people being carried in Some ambulances had even been bloody.
Although they are puzzled by what happened, they are also grateful that illegal fireworks have been detonated in front of the authorities since otherwise it could happen at any time.
“We lived in a time box here on the block,” said Maria, assuring that she has lived in the same place for 30 years.
However, Juan assures that the realization needed more planning. The couple said that around 1 in the morning a neighbor came to see her mother, who lives next to where the truck was parked but is an invalid.
“Until that time the daughter went to tell the police to help her mother because she could not walk, “said María, lamenting the tragedy experienced by several elderly people.
When crossing the street from the House of the Argomaniz a young man measured the size of the windows of his house that had also been shattered by the noise. The young Latino, who asked not to reveal his name, said he was furious at the incompetence of the authorities.
He said that that house is where his mother and grandmother live. He even notified them that there would be a controlled explosion. This is because his house was across the street from where the yellow cordon was.
“My mother called me on the phone very worried and told me that there was an explosion,” said the young man. “But my son was here with them too.”
He added that after the explosion LAPD officers did come to ask if they were okay and that they would then contact the family to see the material damage.
However, he said that he will have to take care of the three broken windows since he cannot leave them like that in a neighborhood that is not very insurance. He just hopes that the authorities manage to do something about it.
Unemployed for days
Rafael Quintanilla, employee of the laundry located on the street 27 and San Pedro, said Thursday morning that the business was destroyed by the explosion.
“It was a scare very big. We already knew it was going to explode and as they say they always do, we trust ourselves that if they knew, “said Quintanilla, who is in charge of the laundry.
However, the noise left almost all the windows of The laundry room was broken and he forcibly threw down several washing carts.
Quintanilla said that at night the authorities would not let him take out his car and on Thursday when he wanted to work they would not let him pass since the area was still under investigation.
“I already had to come home, not even my employer could pass. They said that maybe until Saturday or Sunday we can enter, “said Quintanilla, who has been unemployed for now.
On Thursday morning the wrecked containment truck continued in the same place. Around the block you could see several windows and wrecked vehicles. On the sidewalks you could see a lot of glass from the many windows that broke with the noise.
Meanwhile, several neighbors continued to see in shock what happened in their own neighborhood in broad daylight. Some said that although the plan got out of hand, they are grateful that the authorities get rid of the pyrotechnic fires that as we get closer to July 4 their sound becomes more constant.
“Sometimes it seems like a war zone here,” said one of the neighbors who saw the work of the authorities in the distance.