Hundreds Of Illegal Fireworks Discovered In Mount Washington House Fire

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) - Firefighters say they discovered 100 boxes of illegal fireworks in a fire at a Mount Washington home Monday.

It happened around 9:30 a.m. when a call came out about a fire in a converted garage, which was divided into two sections with one side being used as a living space.

When they searched the other side they found the illegal fireworks.

"Had we gotten here a little later and the fire gotten a head of steam it could have involved the fireworks," said LAFD Capt. Paul Ybarra.

While illegal fireworks are a growing problem all over Southern California, Det. Supervisor Damien Levesques says the explosives found today are some of the most grave.

"Ultimately you're firing something in to the air you don't know where those sparks are going to land," said Levesque.

The LAPD bomb squad says they usually confiscate about 8,000 pounds of fireworks every summer and that just scratches the surface of the amount of illegal fireworks on the streets of this city.