Mar 24, 2008 9:19 am US/Pacific
Crews Contain Massive SF Valley Condo Fire
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
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The fire was sparked accidentally by a welder's torch.
CBS
Firefighters have contained a blaze that ripped through part of a five-story condo complex under construction at the Warner Center in the San Fernando Valley.
Los Angeles fire spokesman Brian Humphrey says more than 200 firefighters remain on the scene of the blaze reported shortly before 9 a.m. Monday.
No injuries have been reported.
Workers were welding a balcony railing on the third floor when a small piece of molten metal, known as slag, toppled over the handrail and set some tarpaper on the second floor ablaze, Humphrey said.
While welding crews are required to carry fire extinguishers, by the time the welders got to the second floor, the fire had already grown beyond their ability to put it out.
Rhe "vast majority" of the block-long project was unharmed by the fire, but some of the building was "structurally compromised," Humphrey said.
LAFD Assistant Chief Tim Manning credited the fast work of firefighters with preventing things from being worse.
"Within the complex, there were multiple buildings, and this fire was threatening those adjacent buildings significantly," Manning reported. "If it were not for the aggressive -- and I mean very aggressive -- attack on the fire (by) firefighters, certainly, this fire would have extended in all directions and would have more than likely consumed the entire complex," Manning said.
During the firefighting effort, crews hauled hoses onto the roofs of nearby buildings to attack the flames. At the height of the blaze, thousands of
gallons of water per minute were poured onto the fire. Dozens of fire trucks were sent to the scene, and civilian drivers were routed away from the area.
The intense fire sent thick clouds of smoke into the air over the western San Fernando Valley.
Crews were expected to remain on scene through the day assessing the damage and mopping up, Humphrey said, but an estimate of the damage has not yet been established.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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