LAFD, UCPD respond to fires at annual Roebling block party
Two fires broke out on Roebling Avenue on Thursday night as multiple individuals set objects ablaze during the annual Roebling block party. (Jeremy Chen/Assistant Photo editor)
By Constanza Montemayor
Sept. 30, 2022 5:04 p.m.
This post was updated Oct. 2 at 10:05 p.m.
Two fires were put out on Roebling Avenue on Thursday night after several individuals lit various objects on fire during the Roebling block party.
Hanako Rahdert, a fourth-year applied mathematics student, said the first fire broke out around 11 p.m., with the second following about 15 minutes later farther up the street.
Individuals threw multiple objects into the blaze, including two Bird e-scooters, a recycling bin and a UCLA move-in cart, Rahdert said. The crowd chanted “‘F ’SC” as the fires burned, she added.
Los Angeles Fire Department fire captain Brian Russell said LAFD arrived at the scene a few minutes after the first fire began, putting it out around 11:30 p.m. and circling back soon after to put out the second. UCPD patrolled and cleared the area surrounding the fires around midnight.
LAFD left the area around 12:42 a.m.
In previous years, the Roebling block party has been planned and quietly publicized to avoid police scrutiny.
Sofia Alvarez, a third-year sociology student, said she heard about the annual block party from friends and came to see the tradition.
“It’s kind of wild,” Alvarez said. “It’s very, very nice to see a whole community of people come together for one singular event.”
