On Tuesday, April 4, 2006 at 4:11 p.m., six companies of Los Angeles firefighters, one LAFD rescue ambulance and one battalion chief officer command team under the direction of Battalion Chief Mark Saxelby responded to a roof collapse with flooding at 334 South Vermont Avenue in the Mid-Wilshire/Wilshire Center area.

Firefighters arrived quickly following a period of intense rain to discover persons self-evacuating in response to a roof failure, plumbing rupture and massive flooding within a one-story 300' x 300' Rite-Aid drugstore on the southeast corner of Vermont Avenue and 3rd Street.

Firefighters promptly surveyed the scene and accounted for all occupants, including a 66-year-old woman who had been knocked to her knees during a sudden rush for the door. She proved to be the only injured person among dozens, and was subsequently transported to Hospital of the Good Samaritan in good condition for assessment of minor knee injuries.

A 30' by 30' section of the wood frame building's flat roof was noted to have suddenly given way in the northwest portion of the building, bringing as many as eight inches of water into the store.

Firefighters worked swiftly to protect the building's contents and manage utilities as they swept water from the structure.

Noting that hundreds of local residents used the location to obtain important prescription medicine, firefighters worked with profound diligence for several hours with the permission of the health department and Rite-Aid staff to conserve, protect and transfer hundreds of filled and pending prescriptions from the pharmacy to an adjacent Rite-Aid store.

Monetary loss from the roof collapse and flooding was estimated at $180,000 ($80,00 structure & $100,00 contents).

Though the roof drains appear to have been functioning inadequately and were likely clogged, the specific reason(s) for the roof's localized failure under a high volume of accumulated water was not officially analyzed or determined by fire department officials.