Chaos briefly erupted in Pacific Palisades yesterday evening as a fire broke out in the parking structure of a convalescent home, sending one woman to the hospital with injuries from a fall. The Los Angeles Fire Department was called to the scene at 17310 W Vereda De La Montura around 7:45 PM, arriving to find light smoke billowing from one automobile engulfed in flames beneath the three-story residence, as per the LAFD alert.

Firefighters quickly moved into offensive mode to battle the blaze, which took approximately 34 minutes to extinguish, and despite the potentially grave scenario, no other injuries were reported except for one female patient who sustained a fall while evacuating the building—she was later transported by LAFD paramedics to a local hospital, according to the follow-up alert.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation with officials sifting through evidence to understand what initiated the blaze that could have endangered many more lives, thankfully, the expert response of the LAFD kept the incident from escalating.

In the wake of the incident, concerns have been raised regarding the safety measures in place at such facilities; for older buildings, especially those housing the vulnerable, whether sufficient protocols and preventative measures are being rigorously upheld, so that an automobile fire in a parking structure does not escalate into a full-blown disaster.