Fireman Critically Hurt as Roof Collapses on 6

Six Los Angeles County firefighters were injured, one critically, when an overhanging roof facade collapsed on them as they scrambled across a second-floor balcony while fighting a fire in a mini-mall in Huntington Park early Wednesday morning.

Five of the firefighters and another who suffered smoke inhalation and heat stress were treated at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood for minor to moderate injuries and released.

But James (Jimmy) Howe, a 25-year veteran described by friends as a “wonderful character,” was in critical condition with multiple injuries. He was pinned under the collapsed roof facade--fashioned from heavy Spanish-style clay tile--for about 20 minutes, within a few feet of the flames, before rescue teams freed him.

Later Wednesday, several of Howe’s friends cleaned up the smoldering remains, grim reminders that seemingly routine fires can be lethal.

It had appeared to be “a completely safe situation,” veteran firefighter Frank Tuttle, a close friend of Howe, said. “The thing that has scared me to death for nearly 24 years (in the department) is that exact same situation.”

“It’s like warfare,” explained Capt. Mark Viles. “You can train for years, but you never know when there’s going to be that guy behind that one tree.”

There is only one way to respond to such a tragedy, Tuttle said: “You cry. You get tears in your eyes and you get choked up.”

The men on the balcony had nearly a century of experience between them, Tuttle, a ladder truck driver, pointed out.

“Now people are talking about, ‘What could I have done?’ or ‘What should have been done?’ But the situation is completely bad luck,” he said. “I know the captain would not go into a situation that wasn’t safe.”

Battalion Chief Al Bennett said many of the firefighters would go through two days of stress therapy, called “defusing.”

“This is a firefighter’s worst nightmare; getting called out to a fire in the middle of the night and finding one of your good friends has been injured,” Bennett said. “Everybody here is just sick.”

About 85 firefighters from 25 engine companies controlled the blaze in the two-story structure at State and Randolph streets in about 40 minutes. Damage was estimated at more than $1 million. The fire erupted in a first-floor Laundromat and arson investigators were on the scene to determine if it was intentionally set.