Shelter-in-place ordered in LA as warehouse fire causes ammonia leak
A fire at a cold storage facility in Los Angeles' Boyle Heights neighborhood ignited solar panels on the roof and ruptured an ammonia line, prompting officials to order nearby residents to shelter in place. Firefighters, aided by helicopters, contained the blaze by evening.
A massive fire engulfed the roof of a 500,000-square-foot cold storage warehouse in Los Angeles on Wednesday, sending thick plumes of dark smoke and toxic ammonia into the air and forcing city officials to order a shelter-in-place for nearby residents.
About 110 firefighters responded to the blaze at the Lineage cold storage facility in the Boyle Heights neighborhood near downtown, according to Los Angeles fire department spokesperson Jennifer Middleton. Both city and county fire and hazmat teams were deployed to contain the fire, which involved the solar panels covering the roof.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Middleton said.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass urged residents in the affected area to immediately go indoors, close windows and doors, turn off air conditioning, and avoid unnecessary travel to the area, in a post on social media.
Firefighters initially attempted to extinguish the flames from the roof but were forced to retreat after an ammonia line burst. "At some point, an ammonia line was compromised and we had a large, pressurized off-gas sing of ammonia," said LAFD chief Jaime Moore. Cold storage facilities use ammonia as a cost-effective refrigerant, but it is both toxic and flammable.
Moore warned residents with health conditions to stay indoors with windows closed and air conditioning off as the city monitored air quality for ammonia off-gassing.
The blaze grew so large that responders resorted to dropping water from helicopters while firefighters withdrew from the roof. At least three helicopters conducted more than half a dozen water drops, Middleton said.
"The amount of fire that they had was overrunning the amount of water we were able to put on it and our firefighters had to evacuate the area for a few minutes there while it was off-gassing," Moore said.
Lineage did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
By evening, the roof fire was largely contained, according to Middleton. However, the roof showed signs of sagging, and the presence of solar panels raised concerns about lithium-ion batteries for energy storage. Moore called lithium-ion batteries "one of our newest challenges in the fire service." These batteries can undergo "thermal runaway," making them extremely difficult to extinguish.
"It's extremely hard to fight the fire, it's dangerous to be around the fire, and it's dangerous to be around the extremely hazardous smoke," Middleton said of lithium-ion battery fires.
