REPORT CHRONICLES LAFD TRAGEDY; CONFUSION, MALFUNCTIONS CITED IN MARCH DEATH OF FIREFIGHTER.

Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer

Equipment malfunctions, confusion and flawed inspections led last March to the first death of a Los Angeles city firefighter in 14 years, according to a report released Wednesday.

Capt. Joseph Dupee became separated from his crew and lost inside Pet Center Inc. at 5972 S. Western Ave., and may have unwittingly caused a backdraft explosion by opening an oven that fed the blaze, the report says.

Fire Chief Bill Bamattre, in a detailed report to the city Fire Commission, said Dupee's death was caused by several factors, among them command officers' failure to coordinate the 28 firefighters and account for their whereabouts.

``We had a problem with incident command,'' Bamattre said. ``We think we have taken care of that now, but we had a situation where people on the ground couldn't break through the building while crews on the roof were putting through ventilation holes that actually contributed to making the fire worse.''

Ken Buzzell of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles said the report confirmed his union's fear that a tragedy would occur because of a decision to cut the number of staff assistants used to coordinate forces at a fire scene.

``We kept being told, wait to see what happens,'' Buzzell said. ``Well, we saw what happened here with Joe Dupee.''

The LAFD since has been given money to fill the staff assistant jobs.

However, a spokeswoman for Mayor Richard Riordan said the report shows that more than two dozen variables could have led to the death. ``You can't look at just one,'' Noelia Rodriguez said.

Other items mentioned in the report include that inspectors failed to uncover that the building was being used to make dog chew toys when it was permitted only as a warehouse, the report says. Bamattre said the firm was improperly operating ovens 24 hours to turn cow bones into chew toys for pets.

The department didn't have specialized inspectors, Bamattre said. ``We do now and are looking at these more closely,'' he said.

Visibly angry, Commissioner Mel Wilson said he believes the department must turn over all its inspections to a specialized team.

``It tears me apart to have to go to a funeral and see the disaster this causes on a young family,'' Wilson said. ``We have to be proactive to make sure we can try to stop this in the future.''

Company officials were not cited.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office have declined to file criminal charges, saying there was insufficient evidence of wrongdoing.

Bamattre said the fire - which broke out at 2:20 a.m. March 8 - presented a number of problems for firefighters.

Because of heavy smoke, firefighters had to crawl in as they carried hoses to mark their location, Bamattre said. They could not locate any flames - which began as a grease fire in ventilation ducts.

After several minutes, firefighters decided to evacuate and fight the fire from the outside.

But because of radio malfunctions and Dupee lacking the proper antenna on his radio, communications broke down. In addition, no special channel had been set up to communicate on the scene, the report said.

Bamattre said investigators speculated Dupee might have heard the alarm and was searching for a comrade when he became trapped. Also, Dupee did not hit a separate button on a radio that would have reported him in trouble.

``We just don't know exactly why he stayed inside,'' Bamattre said.

Outside the building, it took several more minutes to realize Dupee was missing and an emergency rescue team sent inside to find him.

Dupee was unconscious and attempts were made to revive him. He later died en route to a hospital.