Sinkhole Nearly Swallows Fire Engine In Hollywood

LOS ANGELS, CA — A Hollywood neighborhood was under evacuation Thursday night after a burst water main caused a sinkhole to develop and collapsed the roof a nearby home.

Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters arrived to a chaotic scene at 6050 Fountain Avenue, barely escaping when their engine nearly fell into the emerging sinkhole, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Nicholas Prange. The crew escaped the sinkhole in time to rescue a woman trapped in her home by the gushing water before the roof caved in.

"Electric Fire Engine 82 arrived at the address where a flooding was reported to find water flowing in the gutters, but did not see where it originated. As the crew heard the street rumble under the Fire Engine, the driver took off, just as a large hole appeared under them," Prange said. "The rear of the apparatus fell into the hole. The Rosenbauer Fire Engine, being the only all-wheel drive fire engine in the fleet, gained enough traction with the power going to the front wheels to pull itself out of the hole and drive clear of the hazard."

The fire engine sustained some damage.

"As water shot dozens of feet into the air, Firefighters received reports of a woman trapped in a home being pounded by the falling stream of water," Prange added. "Crews were able to rescue her, without injury. Her home has now sustained a roof collapse and severe flooding."

The water main burst in the middle of the street at 6050 Fountain Avenue, sending water shooting 30 feet into the air, said Prange. Firefighters were called to the scene at about 9:30 p.m. and began evacuating surrounding homes after the sinkhole developed.

The sinkhole is not far from Sunset Boulevard near the Hollywood (101) Freeway. It's the same area swarmed by police earlier this week when they arrested a man allegedly pointing high-powered rifles out the windows of his 18th-floor apartment, according to the LAPD.

SEE ALSO: Sunset Boulevard Mass Shooting Likely Prevented By Community: LAPD