A vehicle fire tore through part of an apartment building in South El Monte Tuesday night, injuring two people and sending them to the hospital by ambulance. Firefighters also worked to revive a dog overcome in the blaze, using oxygen to bring the animal back before it was handed off to county deputies.
The fire broke out at 9:18 p.m. in the 3000 block of North Lashbrook Avenue, near Garvey Avenue, according to Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman Jonathan Torres, as reported by MyNewsLA.com. Crews had the flames knocked down fast, with the fire declared out by 9:33 p.m., just fifteen minutes after it was first reported.
Vehicle fires are common nationally. The National Fire Protection Association estimated U.S. fire departments responded to an average of 215,096 vehicle fires annually from 2018 through 2022; those fires caused an estimated 643 civilian deaths and 1,532 injuries per year. The figures put the South El Monte incident in a broader fire-safety context, but do not establish how this particular blaze began or spread. NFPA’s vehicle-fire estimates cover incidents across the country.
Patient Found on Second Floor
Torres said at least one of the two injured patients was found on the second floor of the building, though further details about how the fire reached the structure from the vehicle were not released. Both patients were transported to a hospital in ambulances, and their conditions remained unknown, per the fire department spokesman's account relayed to the outlet.
No information was available on the extent of damage to either the vehicle or the apartment building, and it was not stated whether any residents were evacuated or displaced as a result of the fire.
Firefighters Revive Dog With Oxygen
Amid the chaos, firefighters turned their attention to a dog that had been overcome by the fire, reviving the animal with oxygen at the scene. Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies then stepped in to help place the dog into an animal control truck. The dog's condition afterward was not disclosed.
Firefighters have used oxygen to revive pets at other Southern California apartment fires. In Santa Monica in March 2017, crews found an unresponsive dog overcome by heat and smoke, performed CPR and supplied oxygen through a pet mask; the dog began breathing on its own and regained consciousness. The Santa Monica Fire Department said the masks were standard equipment on its units, while neighbors helped arrange veterinary care. That rescue offers a local comparison, though it does not establish what equipment was used in South El Monte.
