"This house is essentially a bomb," ATF says of Pacoima explosion site after fireworks blast prompts evacuations

Several homes remain under mandatory evacuations after a fiery explosion took place at a home in Pacoima and left a man in critical condition Thursday morning, authorities said.

Authorities said they received several 911 calls reporting there had been a loud explosion at the home located in the 13000 block of West Remington Street, Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Elpidio Orozco said. When officers got to the scene, firefighters were tending to the victim, a 24-year-old man who suffered second-and third-degree burns across his body more than 50% of his body, according to police and fire officials. 

Just before noon, he remained hospitalized in critical condition.

"If you look at the house, from the aerial view that I saw, I'm surprised that anybody survived that incident," Orozco said.

Investigators believe the explosion could have been caused by fireworks.   

There was no one else inside the home but the victim told firefighters, when they first responded at about 9 a.m., that there were some dogs inside, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. 

Once the flames were out later, by 9:30 a.m., one of the dogs was still trapped in the debris, tied with a leash that was stuck under some of the wreckage.

Orozco said the dog was eventually rescued, while two remained outstanding nearly three hours after first responders first arrived. However, the LAPD lieutenant said it was unclear whether the other dogs were actually inside since bomb squad investigators still had to render the home safe before carrying out a full search.

Although the exact cause of the explosion remains under investigation, Orozco said investigators believe it was caused by fireworks. The victim was the only person inside the home so any potential role he may have played in causing the explosion — and whether that could lead to charges — is being looked into by authorities. 

"That's also a possibility, depending on what was found," Orozco said of the potential for charges. 

Mayor Karen Bass said the LAPD had evacuated more residents out of an abundance of caution. LAFD Chief Ronnie Villanueva said 60 residences had been evacuated because of the volatility of the remaining explosive material. 

"All members of the public should really avoid coming in to or around this area until this situation is resolved," LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said Friday afternoon. 

LAPD will have additional patrols to ensure no one enters the area. 

It's unclear whether there were three or four dogs in total since LAPD and LAFD have given conflicting reports on that detail.

LAFD Deputy Chief Jaime Moore said the dogs appeared to be Siberian huskies as he explained why firefighters were letting at least two other dogs remain within the debris along with the other trapped dog.

"The other ones are staying with the one that's tied up to protect that dog," Moore said. "So we have not made entry to remove the dogs... because of the potential for structural collapse. But they're in a safe area."

"It doesn't look like anything could possibly happen to them," he said. "But we also want to make sure it's safe so we can get Animal (Services) in there to get those dogs and get them out safely."

Once the flames were out, firefighters' primary concern became the collapse of the home's roof, LAFD officials said, with the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety called to the scene to make sure the building was safe for entry.

The fire drew the response of several squads within LAFD — including the department's hazmat investigators, arson division and bomb squad — as well as LAPD's Major Crimes Unit and bomb squad investigators, the LA Department of Water & Power and SoCal Gas. 

The victim was initially described by LAFD as believed to be around 40 years old, but authorities later confirmed he is 24. No other details about his condition have been released as he remains hospitalized.

Authorities have not released any other information as the fire remains under investigation.

Firefighters and ATF agents will slowly burn the remaining explosives after learning that the volatile materials were not safe to transport away from the destroyed home. 

"This house is essentially a bomb," ATF Special Agent in Charge Kenneth Cooper said during the press conference. "We are basically notifying the public to render this explosive device safe; we are going to use fire in a slow, methodic burn to alleviate that threat."

LAFD Chief Villanueva said it's unclear how long the "slow burn" operation will take. Firefighters have doused the home with diesel fuel for the controlled burn. To protect the rest of the neighborhood, LAFD crews placed thermal gel on surrounding homes and erected a specialized metal mesh fence around the slow burn to prevent projectiles flying into other homes. 

"We have firefighters placing lines around it," Villanueva said. "We also have sand around it for the runoff water."