Officer Rescues Woman from Burning Tent NR13060rf

Los Angeles: Early this morning, LAPD Central Division officers pulled a woman out of a tent fire just moments before it was completely engulfed in flames.

Just before 3 a.m. today, officers on patrol as part of the Department’s Safer Cities Initiative were in the area of 5th Street and Towne Avenue when they saw a tent on fire with a silhouette of someone lying down inside. One of the officers approached the tent and made contact with the woman occupant. She started getting dressed, and within seconds, the officer had to reach in and pull her out to safety. As he did so, a small explosion occurred, and the tent went up in flames.

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire, from which the officer and occupant suffered minor burns. LAFD personnel treated the officer for singe burns to his arms and the effects of smoke inhalation. The female occupant refused treatment, and both she and the officer were released from the scene. However, later this morning, the officer was taken to a medical clinic for further evaluation.

The fire was caused by a candle the occupant left burning while she slept, and the explosive sound resulted from a battery that caught fire. If it hadn’t been for the officer’s immediate action, the tent fire may have seriously burned or killed the tent dweller.