Fire breaks out at battery storage facility in South Los Angeles
Aug 2025Published 7 Sept 2026Responsible editor: Chief Editor
- Where
- 16208 South Vermont Street, near Los Angeles and Gardena, California
- What
- Fire at battery storage facility
- Injuries
- None reported
- Response
- 144 firefighters contained the fire in five hours
- Cause
- Not reported
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Companies named in the reporting of this entry (being named is not a finding of fault): Los Angeles Department of Water and Power
What happened
A fire was reported at 4:33 a.m. at a battery storage facility located at 16208 South Vermont Street, near the border between Los Angeles and Gardena, California. The Los Angeles Fire Department initially took a defensive firefighting approach due to the large battery storage and a subterranean electrical vault in the building. Large amounts of battery material were burning off, creating hazards for firefighters and the nearby community. Hazmat specialists monitored air quality and water runoff, while the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power worked to de-energise the structure.
A crew of 144 firefighters took about five hours to contain the fire, which was knocked down by 10:45 a.m. Hazmat units remained on scene afterwards to examine hazards from the burning of lead-acid batteries. No injuries were reported and no evacuations were ordered.
Contributing factors
The presence of large battery storage and a subterranean electrical vault complicated firefighting efforts, requiring a defensive approach and de-energisation of the structure before crews could fully engage.
Lessons learned
- Battery storage sites with subterranean vaults need pre-planned defensive tactics because direct entry is unsafe.
- Fire services must coordinate with utilities to de-energise battery facilities before interior work begins.
- Hazmat monitoring of air and runoff is required when lead-acid batteries burn.
More lessons on fire suppression and firefighting, detection and monitoring, from every incident on the register.
Not yet known
- Cause of the fire
- Operator or owner of the facility
- Downtime and repair cost
- Battery capacity and age
This entry is updated when these are reported. Get an alert for the next one like it.
Source
Published 2026-09-07. Written from public reporting. Descriptive, not investigative. See the data accuracy disclaimer.
