LOS ANGELES – The explosion of a compressed natural gas (CNG) powered truck that injured nine people, including two critically injured firefighters, was captured on video Thursday in Wilmington.
Emergency crews first responded to reports of a truck fire near the 1100 block of Alameda Street near an industrial yard just before 7 a.m.
However, Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley said arriving crews were unaware of the brewing danger.
“There was no warning that there was going to be an explosion,” Crowley said. “That was the initial information that was communicated with me.”
Video of the sudden explosion recorded by Noel Jordan and shared with KTLA showed heavy flames and smoke rising high into the sky. The intensity of the blast sent at least one person flying into the air as several vehicles were still driving nearby.
“There are two 100-gallon tanks on that vehicle, one of which exploded while our firefighters were putting out the fire,” said LAFD Captain Erik Scott. “That explosion was significant. The ball of flame was as high as telephone poles, and it did explode one of the [power] transformers nearby.”
The semi-truck that exploded is a heavy load transfer vehicle without a trailer, often referred to as a “clean air vehicle” that is fueled primarily by methane gas stored in pressurized tanks located on either side of the truck.
Officials said the truck driver had called 911 after noticing something abnormal in the tanks.
Aerial video from Sky5 showed debris, including charred wreckage from the truck and firefighting gear scattered around the area.
At least seven firefighters injured in the blast were quickly triaged and treated at the scene before being rushed to a local hospital. One firefighter was placed on a ventilator and airlifted to the LA General Regional Burn Center.
“Two of them are in critical condition,” Scott said.
Witnesses in the area recalled the moment they heard the blast, saying it felt like an earthquake.
“I stay right here just a block away and I was initially in bed, sleeping and I heard a loud bang and the building actually rattled from the explosion,” a witness recalled.
The Los Angeles Department of Health Services later said that a total of nine people, including two in critical condition, were sent to Harbor UCLA Medical Center in connection with the blast.
The driver of the truck escaped unharmed before the blast.
“What happened this morning is a risk that our firefighters take every single day,” said L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. “We are grateful as a city, and as a region for their service.”
As of Thursday night, two firefighters remain hospitalized and seven others were released after being treated. The cause of the explosion remains under investigation.