Battalion Chief Jason Henderson describes industrial fire response during Compton Personnel Board meeting

Compton — During audience comments at the April 13 Compton Personnel Board meeting, Battalion Chief Jason Henderson said he was the incident commander for a large industrial fire at a metal-processing facility and described the multi-agency response.

“I was the incident commander for that fire,” Battalion Chief Jason Henderson said. He told the board the blaze occurred at a metal-processing building that manufactures airplane parts and that metal shavings and housekeeping concerns likely contributed to ignition. He credited an “excellent response” from the Compton Fire Department and mutual aid partners, naming Santa Fe Springs, Long Beach and the Los Angeles County Fire Department as agencies that supported the incident.

Board member Black opened audience comments by praising the Compton Fire Department’s actions during the event and asked whether the city planned to recognize the incident commander for his work. Battalion Chief Henderson said the department will hold a debrief to review lessons learned and that the response was a collective effort.

On inspections and prevention: when asked about inspections for businesses that may be susceptible to similar hazards, Henderson said the fire prevention section conducts inspections but noted the city has thousands of businesses and that annual inspection coverage is a challenge. He emphasized that the fire investigation remains the responsibility of the fire investigator and that the department will follow up through debriefing and prevention channels.

What’s next: Henderson said the department will hold an after-action debrief to identify improvements and continue coordinating with mutual-aid partners.

Quote: “We had an excellent response from the Compton Fire Department and our surrounding agencies to come out and help support us,” Henderson said. "It was a collective effort and we all collaborated to help put the fire out."