At  7:06 a.m., 13 companies of Los Angeles firefighters, five LAFD rescue ambulances, three Arson Units, one Urban Search and Rescue Unit,  one Hazardous Materials Team, one EMS battalion captain, four Battalion Chief Officer Command Teams, and one Division Chief Officer Command Team all under the direction of Assistant Chief Tony Varela responded to a structure fire at 7085 Hayvenhurst Ave. in Lake Balboa/West Van Nuys/Reseda.

When Firefighters arrived on scene, they were immediately confronted with heavy fire from a single story, 50-by-75 commercial building. Firefighters began an aggressive interior attack on the fire as additional firefighters conducted vertical ventilation operations on the roof. Due to the volume of fire and concerns for firefighter safety, incident commanders were preparing to shift from an offensive firefighting strategy to a defensive firefighting strategy. Fortunately, prior to shifting strategies Firefighters were able to gain control of the stubborn blaze in just thirty minutes.

The structure, previously used as a printing company, was vacant at the time of the fire. As firefighters were attacking the fire, they discovered one fatality within the structure. A male, severely burned, was determined to be deceased at the scene. A total of 97 firefighting personnel participated in mitigating this emergency. The circumstances of the fire and fire fatality remain under investigation. There were no other injuries reported. The dollar loss is still being tabulated.