Boyle Heights Warehouse Fire Was a Text-Book Opportunity for Breathe SoCal
The Lineage refrigerated-warehouse fire in Boyle Heights last month is a perfect example of how sensitive we are to the air and how it can harm us.
The fire created an environmental crisis sending incredibly high levels of smoke and soot into the air, posting higher pollution levels than some of the worst days during the Palisades and Eaton Fires last year, according to the Los Angeles Times.
From downtown L.A. to the San Gabriel Valley, tens of thousands of people were enveloped in unhealthy levels of thick black smoke for days. Since then, those living near the fire site have suffered from the stench of rotting food from the warehouse, turning the air into a stinky, gray miasma.
Lineage said there were no hazardous materials stored in the warehouse. Despite this, nearby residents said they could barely breathe inside their homes and the region’s air quality regulator, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, extended a warning that air quality levels were still elevated and considered “Very Unhealthy.”
Even before the fire, the Boyle Heights community was one of the most polluted communities in the region. This is due to its proximity to a lot of small industrial cities and being surrounded by freeways. But, unlike the typical air pollution that lingers in cities, smoke from a urban fire is far more dangerous.
This was a text-book example of why Breathe Southern California is needed. Because, protecting our communities’ health starts with clean air.
Breathe Socal recently held a two-day distribution event where staff and volunteers handed out nearly 850 HEPA indoor air purifiers and thousands of N95 masks to Boyle Heights residents affected by the fire. The air purifiers reduce the amount of fine air particles indoors. Nearly everyone on the Breathe Socal team played a role in the distribution effort, even yours truly, as we needed all hands on deck to move that many items that quickly. We will be back at least two more times in July to distribute another 1,650 purifiers. We even got some news coverage on the local CBS affiliate Channel 2. The reporter told us she learned of our distribution event through our Instagram page. That is just one more reason to follow our Instagram account: to stay on top of everything we’re doing to help local communities.
What we do on a day-to-day basis to help patients with lung disease is very important. We also improve and address those issues through long term approaches, such as research and advocacy. Still, sometimes the most important thing you can do is respond to an emergency, help the people who are suffering, and address their immediate needs. That’s what we’ve been doing the past several weeks.
While we were planning to distribute air purifiers to Boyle Heights residents once we heard about the fire, an anonymous donor gave us a very generous $500,000 donation so that we could increase the number of purifiers we are distributing. Instead of 300 we can now distribute ten times that amount through partnerships with two air purifier manufacturers, Air Doctor and Medify.
Just recently, we launched a fundraising match campaign to raise an additional $500,000 by September 4. Your support will help provide clean-air resources, protective equipment, and community outreach to families in Boyle Heights and neighboring communities. Every dollar donated will be matched dollar-for-dollar through this challenge gift, doubling your impact and helping us reach more residents in need.
We talk about lung health a lot and the major sources that are destroying it, tobacco, air pollution, and even indoor air pollution. Yet, when something like the Lineage fire happens, we’re ready to spring into action help those whose lungs are most in need.
