LAPD admitting some fault in South LA fireworks explosion seen as bittersweet news for displaced residents
LAPD admitting some fault in South LA fireworks explosion seen as bittersweet news for displaced residents
Some of the displaced families tell FOX 11 their homes are not yet fully repaired. Others say they are afraid to return home.
LOS ANGELES - They did what? asked one incredulous resident in Spanish, in the neighborhood rocked by a fireworks explosion last month.
We had just explained that Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore has all but pointed to human error for the blast that injured 17 people and destroyed homes off 27th street in South LA.
LAPD Chief: Human error likely behind fireworks explosion in South LA
Ringo H.W. Chiu/AP
The remains of an armored Los Angeles Police Department tractor-trailer are seen after fireworks exploded Wednesday evening, June 30, 2021. A cache of illegal fireworks seized at a South Los Angeles home exploded, damaging nearby homes and cars and causing injuries, authorities said. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
and last updated 2021-07-19 19:12:07-04
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Police Chief Michel Moore said Monday human error likely contributed to a destructive fireworks explosion in South Los Angeles, with bomb squad technicians vastly underestimating the amount of explosive material placed into a containment truck.
According to Moore, a preliminary investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms National Response Team found that the bomb squad significantly underestimated, based on a visual assessment, the weight of explosive material that was being loaded into the bomb squad truck for detonation.
The truck which has been used 41 previous times over the last decade, including for three detonations in June can safely contain the detonation of up to 15 pounds of explosive materials for repeated use or up to 25 pounds for one-time use that would render the truck out-of-service in the future. Bomb technicians followed department protocols to limit handling of the explosive devices and estimated the total amount of explosive material being loaded into the truck was 16.5 pounds, Moore said. The National Response Team s physical weighing of the materials found that the actual amount was 42 pounds.
Los Angeles police chief says weight miscalculation likely led to fireworks detonation that injured at least 17 By April Siese Illegal fireworks explosion in Los Angeles
Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore shed light Monday on the disastrous explosion that occurred last month after a trove of fireworks was placed in a containment vessel and detonated in a South Los Angeles neighborhood. Moore said bomb squad technicians likely miscalculated the weight of the explosives.
Moore explained that bomb technicians believed 16.5 pounds of explosives and countercharges were placed in what s known as a total containment vessel. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives National Response Team, (NRT) which is investigating the incident, revealed that the total weight was likely just over 42 pounds.