The Boyd Street Incident

On May 16, 2020 a cannabis manufacturing plant exploded in Los Angeles.  There were 230 firefighters battling the blaze, and 12 firefighters were injured while performing their duties, some severely.  As a result of this serious incident, the Los Angeles City Fire Department (LAFD) directed an immediate review of the events that transpired.

The LAFD Serious Incident Review Team (SIRT) was assembled and conducted a thorough review.  Due to the business containing floor to ceiling storage of dispensary products, butane, and large quantities of Nitrous Oxide (N2O) chargers, the occupancy load created a violent, hot, and rapidly expanding fire. 

“This resulted in a significant incident where we potentially could have lost multiple firefighters.  We are extremely proud of the immediate actions our members took in recognizing the quickly deteriorating conditions and evacuating.  As a result of the Boyd Street Incident, we promptly initiated a department-wide ‘Windshield Survey,’ which directed each fire station to conduct a survey of their district to identify firefighter safety concerns and hazardous materials storage.

“The results were that many of these occupancies contained hazardous materials storage, compressed gas cylinders, suspected cannabis operations, excessive storage, access challenges, and other adverse conditions deemed to be hazardous towards firefighter safety.  Quickly, the Fire Prevention Bureau shut down six of these occupancies due to excessive storage and cited others for violations.  The Boyd Street Incident is a stark reminder of the dangerous challenges we face during structure fire incidents.”  Erik Scott, Captain II / Paramedic, Public Information Officer, Los Angeles City Fire Department