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LAFD Chief On Last Night's Fire: 'A Lot Of Our Firefighters Were Traumatized'

By Josie Huang and Tammy Trujillo
Published May 17, 2020 10:17 AM
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Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters at the scene of a structure fire that sent 11 firefighters to the hospital. (Damian Dovarganes/AP)
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LAFD Chief Ralph Terrazas said last night's big fire and explosion in Downtown L.A. that sent 11 firefighters to the hospital had many in his department distressed:

"A lot of our firefighters were traumatized. I spoke to them directly, and they're holding up. But when one of your own is injured...you can imagine the amount of emotional stress."

Terrazas, speaking at a news conference last night, said they hoped the incident would provide lessons for the future.

"We'll have a more in-depth significant incident investigation team look at this incident to learn everything possible, so that we can learn from this event and share this information with all our firefighters within the LAFD as well as throughout the region," he said.

READ MORE ABOUT THE FIRE:

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