CalOSHA Slams LASD: Mobile Firing Range Explosion Caused by Negligence

In a not at all surprising move, the state’s occupational health and safety administration (CalOSHA) has stated that the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department was negligent in the death of one deputy and the injury of another caused by failing to properly maintain a mobile shooting range.

CalOSHA said the department failed to conduct regular – if any – proper maintenance of the converted semi-trailer, leading to a buildup of combustible material which resulted in the explosion that killed Deputy Alfredo Flores and severely injured a second deputy.

The explosion occurred last December – Flores succumbed to his wounds earlier this year.

At the time of the explosion, the Globe – citing internal sheriff’s department sources who wished to remain anonymous –  reported that the cause of the tragedy was almost certainly improper maintenance.

It now appears that was indeed the case.

On October 10, 2023, Flores and the second deputy went into the mobile firing range – then parked in Castaic – for their standard practice session.

The range was a 53-foot trailer – inexplicably the distance needed for handgun re-certification is 75 feet – and had apparently been modified to act a shooting range.

According to CalOSHA now and Globe sources at the time, the range was not properly maintained with gunpowder residue and other flammable material allowed to build up inside trailer.

It was this material that caused the explosion.

The LASD mobile ranges have a history of catching fire – in 2016 and 2019 two other ranges ignited while contractors were working on them – the sparks from their tools most likely triggering the combustible dust – and a third range went up in 2019 when a deputy was testing a “flash bang” grenade.

Unlike outdoor shooting ranges, indoor ranges – especially ones modified from other equipment and not purpose-built – must be cleaned regularly and properly.

Last fall, firing range expert Joe Bricko of Range Systems, a Minnesota-based firm that outfits indoor ranges, said every time a bullet is fired some gunpowder residue is created and that  “If you’re negligent, it starts to build up.”

Added Bricko:

It is extremely important to clean indoor ranges often and with specialty equipment – like sparkless vacuum cleaners, said Bricko. Without such maintenance enough powder and lead dust could accumulate to lead to an explosion, though the process could take years.

Bricko said deputies would not necessarily have seen a layer of dust on the floor or walls of the trailer, warning them of any danger – the true threat is from dust gathering in corners and cracks and more out of the way parts of the range (hence the need for proper design and maintenance.)

“Years of unspent powder could be trapped in crevices and when it gets packed down (by foot traffic, etc.) it becomes almost like a bullet.”

CalOSHA issued a number of repair and maintenance requirements and a fine of $301,000.

The LASD – which has filed an appeal of the CalOsha citation –  said it is “working county Counsel to evaluate the OSHA violations, but the safety of our personnel is paramount and our primary concern.

The department also noted that is has shuttered all of its shooting ranges except for one outdoor facility.