1 Killed in South LA Fire, Explosion
Authorities said people were hurled from the building when it exploded early Friday
AP
A Los Angeles Fire Department investigator walks past a building where an apparent natural gas explosion occurred Friday July 30, 2010 in Los Angeles. The explosion collapsed part of the building and hurled two workers into the street, killing one and leaving the other in critical condition, fire officials said. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Los Angeles Fire Department officials now say only one person has died as a result of an explosion at a South Los Angeles business.
One man who was in the building at the time of the blast remains hospitalized with critical burns, according to city fire.
Another man died from electrocution, apparently because of downed power lines outside the building that fell on his vehicle.
The fire occurred at a commercial building at 59th Street and Central. Fire officials said the explosion threw three people into the street, wedging some beneath parked cars.
Fire Capt. Steve Ruda said a violent natural gas explosion shook the two-story building housing a welding operation at 6:15 a.m. Friday and the front of the structure collapsed. There were victims in the street when 100 firefighters arrived.
"We have discovered there was illegal tampering with the gas meter," said a spokesman with the Southern California Gas Company.
A JL Spray company official told the Los Angeles Times that the owner of the metal works paint company was inside the building at the time of the blast. She identified the owner as Jaime Lara.
Elizabeth Alvarado, the firm's manager, told the Times the company's gas had been turned off Thursday.
She said Lara’s brother, Juan, had come to work with his brother early in the morning and stayed outside to do some cleaning while Jaime went inside to turn on the company’s paint oven. Juan saw the explosion, she said. Alvarado said she did not know who else was inside the building at the time.
Authorities have not confirmed the victims' identities.
"This is a very large commercial area," said Ruda. "There was a furnacing operation here and a lot of industrial gasses here. We're not sure exactly what happened, but it was a major explosion."
The fire was extinguished in 25 minutes and the department's urban search and rescue team was called in to search the collapsed structure for possible victims.
