A tragic explosion in an office building in a Westchester business district had one casualty on Wednesday afternoon. There won’t be a huge media coverage of the incident, no politicians dropping sound bytes. Every time a firefighter or other service personnel dies in the line of duty we need to remind ourselves that these are people who risk their lives and put their safety on the line, so we can be safe.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Brent A. Lovrein was part of a firefighter team that was investigating smoke and a couple of blasts at a Westchester business district. He was investigating an office building at Sepulveda and La Tijera boulevards. An electrical vault apparently blew apart, throwing building material on the 35-year-old firefighter. He died of injuries sustained during the explosion. Another firefighter, Anthony Guzman, sustained injuries including a fractured arm and ankle and was treated at UCLA Medical Center. The firefighters were investigating the metal-clad door to the vault when it exploded. The explosion was strong enough to blow metal and stucco out of the building. Residents reported hearing what sounded like a sonic boom.

The explosion followed a series of earlier explosions in which two manhole covers were blasted into the air.

According to initial investigations, the cause of the explosion has not been confirmed, but it could have been due to an electrical malfunction. The firefighters were investigating an earlier explosion in which smoke was seen coming out of underground utilities. The cause of that explosion is still a mystery. It could not have been an electrical outage because there was no blackout in the area. Investigators are still baffled by what caused the earlier explosion.

FBI agents and Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad officers have been called in to help with investigations.

Some residents of the building reported smelling gas just before the explosion that killed Lovrein rocked the building. These reports are not confirmed. Other evidence suggests that a firefighter used an electrical saw to open the vault, which ignited the spark that caused the explosion. There has already been speculation about the possibility of methane or some other gas in the atmosphere before the explosion.

We hope the investigations can reveal the true cause of this explosion so Lovrein’s family can find peace. They deserve to know the truth behind the explosion, and what caused it. The Los Angeles Fire Department is currently mourning Lovrein and rallying around Guzman who remains in hospital for treatment. Lovrein leaves behind his parents and a brother.