The city set up a one-stop help center on Monday for the victims affected by the Los Angeles Police Department’s detonation of illegal fireworks in South LA.
The June 30 blast explosion -- that injured 17 people and damaged 37 vehicles, 22 residences and 13 businesses -- has been a nightmare for residents and business owners in the area.
The help center will be open for a week at the 28th St. YMCA, a block from the 27th St. blast site. A couple came to the center hoping to get financial help from the city for repairs, lost wages and medical bills for their toddler.
“All our fridges, our table, our couch, our mattress, everything we had to throw out because there was so much glass,” she said.
“Both of our windows broke from both floors. [Authorities] didn’t tell us to evacuate, but they told the two people to the left, to the right and to the front," he said.
"Two more houses got hurt to the right. It was kind of messed up."
A handful of businesses had to close due to damage like a sewing machine shop on the corner.
Neighbors are shell-shocked and frustrated. The couple said they have become more anxious since the accident.
“Being next to a boiler or even turning on a stove is scary. He’s handling it better than me. I think I'm more anxious and jumpy,” she said.
Both said they have lost work over the blast because they had no way to get to work for two weeks while the investigation was taking place.
Preliminary findings showed that LAPD technicians miscalculated the weight of the explosives being detonated.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore said technicians estimated 16 pounds of explosives were being detonated in their specially designed containment unit, but an analysis by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives showed that the technicians actually detonated 42 pounds of net explosives, well above the unit’s capacity.
On 27th St., homes and businesses remain boarded up. There are blown-out windows on cars. It looks like a bomb went off. In a way, it did.