March 30--A Los Angeles Fire Department engine crashed into five parked cars and knocked down two power poles, sparking a small fire, after its driver suffered a medical emergency while responding to a call early Wednesday in Valley Glen, officials said.
The engineer was driving a crew that also included two firefighters and another engineer, when he was stricken near Burbank Boulevard and Woodman Avenue and lost control just before 2 a.m., said LAFD spokeswoman Margaret Stewart.
The collision with the power poles created a short-circuit in a nearby liquor store sign, which sparked a fire in the building's wall, Stewart said. Firefighters extinguished that blaze by 2:25 a.m. and another LAFD engine responded to the call that the first crew was originally dispatched to, Stewart said.
Power had been knocked out to the area, but a Los Angeles Department of Water and Power official was not immediately available with details.
The fire engine crew involved in the crash was taken to the hospital and released, officials said. The driver who suffered the medical emergency will have to be physically cleared before returning to duty.
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