A truck carrying two 100-gallon compressed natural gas tanks exploded on Thursday morning in Wilmington. As responders attempted to calm the flames, 9 firefighters were injured and two were sent to the hospital in critical conditions. Mekhalo Medina reports for the NBC4 News on Feb. 15, 2024.
Los Angeles Fire Department announced the most injured in the Wilmington explosion out of the nine firefighters was extubated, marking the beginning of a lengthy recovery.
According to a tweet from LAFD Capt. Erik Scott, the firefighter is awake, alert and talking. The next steps in recovery will be to introduce food as tolerated.
The firefighter who was also injured critically was discharged from the hospital Friday night and is said to be resting at home. As for the other seven firefighters, they will remain off duty and have "various medical appointments," said Scott.
With a happy heart and a sense of relief, we are pleased to report that our most injured #LAFD #Firefighter was successfully extubated this morning. He is awake, alert and talking.
— Erik Scott (@PIOErikScott) February 17, 2024
Next steps will be to introduce food as tolerated.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
Nine Los Angeles firefighters were injured when a compressed natural gas tank on a burning truck exploded Thursday morning on a street in Wilmington.
The powerful explosion that sent a fireball into the air was reported at about 7 a.m. in the 1100 block of North Alameda Street. Firefighters initially responded to the location near a truck yard next to a residential neighborhood after a call about the truck fire.
Local
About six minutes later, nine firefighters who were putting out the fire were injured when one of the truck's two compressed natural gas tanks exploded. Two of those firefighters were hospitalized in critical condition. Other people were being assessed for injuries at the scene.
Two 100-gallon compressed natural gas tanks were on the truck, the LAFD said. Firefighters remained at the scene to release gas from the second tank on the burned-out truck.
