BATTALION 14 News & Information

On Tuesday, December 20, Battalion 14 was dispatched in the late afternoon to a stand-by assist with numerous LAPD resources on scene of a possible dangerous hazard with a barricaded suspect inside a structure. A commercial building located at 7955 Haskell Avenue was surrounded by specialized resources including SWAT, Bomb Squad and Command Officers who had responded following information obtained from an incident involving dynamite that occured earlier that day in North Hollywood. (See below)


Due to the possibility of explosives being stored in one unit of the 25 x 500 foot multi unit commercial a Rescue Ambulance and an Engine Company were initially dispatched to the incident to provide support for the LAPD members. After meeting with members of the specialized resources and Command Staff, Battalion Chief Evan Williams requested additional resources including EMS 14, Light Force 90, Rescue 90 and Squad 70. In addition Battalion 14 moved all resources on scene, including the LAPD Command Post and Fire/Rescue units, further away from the target occupancy in response to intellegence gained indicating that as many as 15 sticks of dynamite could be inside the building.

At approximately 2000 hours the suspect surrendered to SWAT officers and assured them that there were no explosives inside. As officers prepared to sweep the area and gain entry to the building Deputy Chief Rueda was notified of the potentially dangerous situation thru OCD. Using special equipment and resources to assist in the search of a building with "pack rat" type conditions Bomb Squad members made an alarming discovery and informed Battalion 14 that they had in fact located 60 to 70 sticks of dynamite inside. To make matters worse the dynamite had began to rapidly deteriorate and was highly unstable.

At a meeting between members of the Bomb Squad and Battalion 14 all possible remidies to the situation were discussed including every method of safe disposal. It was determined that there was no safe method to move the explosives from their location inside the structure and that the situation was "off the scale" dangerous. Accidental detonation could occur with even the most careful handling of the product with disasterous results. A final decision was made to conduct a "controlled burn" of the dynamite inside the structure to eliminate the hazard.


Following the decision Batallion 14 requested Division 3 (A/C James) to respond to the scene and formulated a relief plan for companies that had been on scene since the late afternoon. As additional resources arrived on scene Deputy Chief Rueda took command of the incident along with a specialized Incident Command Team. A carefully drafted "Burn Plan" was created that would not only insure complete destruction of the explosives but would limit damage to the adjoining occupancies. With the approval of all Agencies, including the FBI, LAFD members began to prepare the structure for the burn. Preparation included the cutting of "strip ventilation" openings over the target and adjacent occupancies and the cutting of a "heat hole" over the target occupancy. Due to the shock sensitive nature of the hazard all roofing material had to be carefully removed by "pull back" methods and with precision teamwork by the companies assigned to perform the task. Battalion 10 Commander Joe Foley supervised the roof operation.


At the ground level none of the content of the target occupancy could be removed due to the danger of detonation. LAPD Bomb Squad members restricted entry to the occupancy for safety as LAFD members developed hoselays that could not only supply the two remote portable monitors that would remain un-manned as water flowed through them but would also be supplied by apparatus that would be positioned over 1000 feet away. Battalion 17 Commander John Duca supervised this operation as well as the application of Barricade protective gel to the exposed occupancies. The LAPD assisted in the removal of personal items from an adjacent occupancy that were trasnsported from the scene by the occupants. Assistant Chief Gregory West had the challenging task of acting as the Safety Officer on what was obviously a very difficult and dangerous incident with the potential for catastrophic damage and a possible life loss to personnel.

As these operations were taking place Deputy Chief Rueda requested that Chief Williams meet with members of the Bomb Squad in order to formulate an "ignition plan" that would insure destruction of the dynamite without accidental detonation. Not only was the timing of the burn essntial (at least 30 minutes) but the initial ignition had to be just hot enough to insure continued burning without being too violently explosive to cause detonation. Additionally the fire had to burn in a manner that would not allow the overhead mezzanine and roofing to drop on the container holding the explosives in a smothering action that would in fact create an additional hazard following knockdown of the fire. A plan was developed to use several fuels and devices in order to accomplish the goal of incineration of the product. Following approval of the plan by the agencies on scene it was agreed that the Bomb Squad would make the final determination that the explosives were eliminated prior to fire resources extinguishing the fire.


With the assistance of the California Highway Patrol and the Metro Authority the 405 Freeway and the Metrolink rail lines were shut down just prior to ignition. DWP workers shut down utilities including the power grid. All occupancies within the perimeter were evacuated along with notifications to residents and workers at a nearby Budweiser Brewery by our members. Following numerous "walkthroughs" of the ignition sequence with the Bomb Squad, Chief Williams notified command that the Bomb Techs were ready to start the burn. Shortly after 0630 hours on December 21, nearly 14 hours after the first LAFD companies arrived on scene, the portable monitors were charged and the controlled burn was initiated.







Following a very tense moment when the burn started, a remote robotic camera communicated video of the burn to the Command Post that indicated not only was the burn hot enough to accomplish the mission but that damage to the adjacent occupancies would be limited by the ventilation and Barricade gel. When it was deemed safe LAFD members moved in and quickly knocked down the fire. Initial inspection confirmed successful elimination of the explosives. Damage to the adjacent occupancies was amazingly minimal considering the intensity of the burn. Most importantly there were no injuries to civilians or Fire/Policed personnel.

The highly successful operation was one of the first, if not the first of its' kind in the Nation. With the FBI and other agencies stating that this could eventually serve as a "National Model" for the handling of unstable explosives in an urban environment, and with the confirmation of this statement from inquiries already received from agencies across the Nation, all members can be proud of their fellow members who worked as a team to perform a safe operation under the most dangerous conditions.

Battalion 14 would like to thank all of those who responded to this incident for their patience and hard work and say that we were proud to be there with you.

Acting on a tip the LAPD recently located and safely disposed of a single stick of dynamite removed from a North Hollywood apartment. LAFD resources supported the members of the LAPD Bomb Squad as they carefully removed the highly unstable explosive and placed it into a specialized container for detonation and disposal. Precision teamwork between the members of the Bomb Squad insured a safe smooth and safe operation. Pictured: An LAPD Bomb Technician carries the unstable dynamite to the Disposal Unit.

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