1 Killed, 2 Injured in Cinder Block Wall Collapse at Construction Site in Pacoima

Pacoima, Los Angeles, CA: A cinder block wall fell at a construction site Wednesday morning, trapping one victim that ultimately resulted in death and leaving two others injured.

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a technical rescue incident around 8:47 a.m., June 7, at a construction site on the 10500 block of North Glenoaks Boulevard in the Pacoima neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Arriving LAFD personnel found that a cinder block wall had fallen, injuring three people including one trapped patient at a large lot of ongoing construction at the location, according to the LAFD.

Erik Scott, LAFD Captain and PIO for the department, said an approximate 3-foot wide by 3-foot deep, long hole was being prepared for footing at the site. Behind that was a large, old, cinder block wall about 6-feet tall and 40-feet long and unreinforced due to possibly the time it was originally built. When the footing was being dug, the wall gave way onto those construction workers. A 42-year-old and a 45-year-old male suffered non-life-threatening injuries that were treated. They were then transported to a local hospital.

“Tragically, we had a 49-year-old male that was trapped underneath that heavy cinder block,” said Scott speaking to the press at the scene.

LAFD Urban Search & Rescue – confined space specialists – arrived at the scene and worked to free the patient with multiple specialized tools for these types of incidents.

“Firefighters extricated the trapped worker, but sadly, the victim had perished under the rubble,”stated the LAFD.

LAFD crews preserved the scene for the arrival of the Los Angeles Police Department, and CAL OSHA for investigation due to the fatality being at a work site, according to the LAFD.

Oscar Sol, Video Journalist / KNN