On Tuesday afternoon, a big rig carrying highly flammable hydrogen tanks caught fire in Commerce, prompting evacuation orders within a quarter-mile radius and a response from Los Angeles County Fire Department crews, as reported by ABC7. The incident began around 12:20 p.m. in the 2700 block of South Garfield Avenue, with officials at the scene expressing concerns that the tanks were possibly leaking into the flames, adding complexity and danger to the firefighting efforts.
HAZMAT INCIDENT| FS50 | 2700 Blk S Garfield Ave. | #Commerce | At approx. 12:20 p.m., #LACoFD units responded to a tractor trailer with two tanks possibly leaking. A 1/4 mile evacuation has been ordered.#GarfieldIC
— L.A. County Fire Department (@LACoFDPIO) October 8, 2024
The severity of the situation was heightened by the contents of the rig's tanks, which were initially reported as compressed hydrogen, but later fire department updates clarified that the truck was carrying compressed nitrogen gas, this led to the fire burning for an extended period as firefighters continued to douse the side of the tanker truck well into the afternoon, according to CBS News Los Angeles.
NBC Los Angeles added that the hazardous materials team was called to the scene once the initial investigation by county firefighters determined there was potential leaking from the tanks on the big rig, evacuations along Garfield Avenue were conducted though no immediate reports of injuries surfaced, and as of around 2:30 p.m., crews on the scene reported that the material inside the tanks was still burning off.
