Failure to follow required precautions for "hot work" in the Port of Los Angeles may have contributed to the stubborn and destructive fire in a wooden wharf, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department battalion chief for the area.
The fire shut down harbor cargo operations for nearly 24 hours and burned for 36 hours before it was declared a knockdown Wednesday morning. Fire Department officials have identified the fire's cause as an accident during work involving a torch for welding or other repair purposes.
Use of equipment that puts out high heat or an open flame is deemed "hot work," which requires certain precautions and monitoring to minimize risk of fire, or if one is ignited, to have personnel and extinguishing equipment ready to put it out.
As part of those precautions, the fire department should have been notified in advance, according to Battalion Chief Ray Gomez, whose city fire battalion responded to the fire Monday night and has remained in charge of the mop-up operations.
Gomez acknowledged that authorities do not yet know all the details of how the fire started, but said of the hot work precautions, "Obviously it wasn't done. Cause that's how the fire started."
Most of the port's wharves are fire-proof concrete, but an estimated one-fifth remain from the era of wooden construction, using the preservative creosote, a tar-like substance that is highly inflammable.
The terminal is operated by the Pasha Stevedoring & Terminals, which handles shipments of metal supplies, including plates and coils. Authorities have released no specifics on the nature of the work project, nor whether it was being done under the direction of Pasha, the port of Los Angeles, or some other entity. Tuesday, Pasha VP Tim Tess said he had no information on the fire's origin.
News
Top news of the day
Even after knockdown, embers continued to burn in "nooks and crannies" inside the wharf structure, Gomez said, and firefighters worked to root out and extinguish the remaining hotspots.
"Literally we have to take the wharf apart to make sure the fire is out," Gomez said.
