A man was left in grave condition Thursday after a block wall collapsed behind a home in the Vermont Knolls neighborhood of South Los Angeles, trapping him under the debris until firefighters pulled him out.
Crews with the Los Angeles Fire Department were dispatched around 1:35 p.m. to the 7400 block of South Hoover Street, where they found the man pinned beneath the fallen masonry and began providing lifesaving care at the scene. Officials said the cause of the collapse was not immediately clear.
In a statement to MyNewsLA, LAFD spokeswoman Margaret Stewart said the man was discovered beneath a collapsed block wall and was “receiving lifesaving care” on site while firefighters worked to free him. The outlet reports that firefighters carried out an extrication operation after being dispatched shortly after 1:30 p.m. No additional information about the victim’s age or the hospital where he was taken had been released.
City rules on walls and when engineering is required
The city requires engineered plans and permits for many types of retaining and slough walls, and the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety’s information bulletins spell out when geotechnical reports, drainage systems, and subdrains must be built into designs. According to that guidance, property owners and contractors must follow plan-check rules for walls that support slopes or carry significant loads, which means older masonry walls can become safety risks if they have not been inspected or maintained. For detailed design and permitting standards, see the LADBS information bulletins.
Not an isolated danger
Similar incidents have hit the region before. In January, a wall collapsed in the Lennox area injured three people and leaving one of them trapped, according to MyNewsLA, and that rescue also required an extrication effort. The cause of Thursday’s collapse had not been determined, and city officials had not released further details as of publication.
