3 deputies killed in explosion at Los Angeles County Sheriff’s training facility

Three veteran deputies, who specialize in arson and explosives, were killed in an explosion at a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department training facility on Friday morning, authorities said.

Los Angeles County firefighters were dispatched at 7:27 a.m. PDT for an explosion by 1000 N. Eastern Avenue in East L.A., which is near the sheriff department’s Eugene Biscailuz Regional Training Academy, 5 miles east of L.A. City Hall, officials said.

The blast was “a critical workplace incident” that resulted in “three Department member fatalities,” according to a sheriff’s department statement.

The victims were not immediately identified, but Sheriff Robert Luna said they had 74 years of collective experience on the force — 19 years, 22 years and 33 years, respectively. They were members of the department’s arson and explosives unit, officials said.

Luna told reporters the investigation has just started so the cause is still not known.

“I’ve heard over and over the word ‘elite’ being used. I think sometime that that term gets overused. But if you’re familiar with our Special Enforcement Bureau, they’re the best of the best,” Luna said.

“They are fantastic experts, and unfortunately, I lost three of them today,” he said.

The FBI, L.A. City Fire Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents and the LAPD bomb squad responded to the scene, officials said.

“The thoughts of all Angelenos are with all of those impacted by this blast,” L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement.

Hilda Solis, who represents the L.A. County Board of Supervisors district where the blast happened, said she’s been in close contact with Sheriff Luna.

“I am deeply saddened by the tragic incident that occurred this morning at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Biscailuz Training Academy in East Los Angeles,” Supervisor Solis said in a statement.

“My heart goes out to the families, friends, and colleagues of the three individuals who lost their lives in what appears to have been a devastating explosion. I am in contact with Sheriff Robert Luna and closely monitoring the situation as we await further details. My thoughts are with all those grieving and the first responders who are on the scene.”

The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department is the nation’s largest local sheriff’s agency. Deputies patrol L.A. County courthouses, jails, unincorporated communities in the county and provides police services to cities that contract with the department.

Friday’s blast marks the deadliest law enforcement-related explosion in Southern California in nearly 40 years.

LAPD Detective Arleigh McCree and Officer Ronald Ball were killed as they tried to defuse pipe bombs on Feb. 8, 1986 in North Hollywood.

Four years ago in South L.A., officers botched the transportation of illegal fireworks, setting off a huge explosion that injured 10 law enforcement officers and seven residents.

The blast, which became known locally as the 27th Street Explosion, also damaged 22 homes, 13 businesses and 37 cars and trucks as about 80 people were displaced from their homes. The city paid more than $21 million to settle civil claims.