Chemist Burned in Fire at Rocketdyne

A research chemist from Woodland Hills was severely burned Wednesday in an explosion at Rocketdyne in Canoga Park that heavily damaged the rocket-fuel research laboratory where he was working.

Damage was limited to the lab, but about 200 employees were evacuated for almost two hours while officials from the Los Angeles city Fire Department and the company checked for toxic fumes.

Ross Wagner, 59, was working in a one-man lab at 6633 Canoga Ave. when a small quantity of a solid propellant used to make rocket fuel exploded two minutes before the start of the 7:30 a.m. shift, a company spokesman said.

Cause Not Determined The cause of the blast and the amount of damage have not been determined.

A Rocketdyne security guard, David L. Dawson, heard the explosion and pulled Wagner from the lab, company officials said.

Wagner suffered severe burns to 25% of his body, including his hands and face, and was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center in critical condition. He was transferred to the Sherman Oaks Burn Center, where he was listed in serious condition Wednesday night.

Wagner faces plastic surgery and a monthlong stay at the burn center, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Dawson, who suffered minor respiratory problems, was treated at a Valley hospital and released. Fire officials said they did not know whether he had inhaled toxic fumes or was hyperventilating.

The explosion set off the facility’s sprinkler system, which extinguished the fire, limiting damage to the lab.

Paramedics carried Wagner from the building, past evacuated employees who waited in the parking lot facing a large sign on the building that reads, “Don’t learn safety by accident.”

Rocketdyne, a division of Rockwell International, manufactures rocket engines for the space shuttle and houses research, engineering and administrative operations.

Fire and company officials said the cause of the explosion is not expected to be determined for several days.

Fire Department spokesman Vince Marza said the propellant that was thought to have ignited is “referred to as ‘dead’ in its solid state, but if any sort of heat or combustion activates it, it becomes toxic and highly flammable.”

“The explosion really did a number on the lab,” Marza said.

The accident presented no danger of toxic fumes to residents of the surrounding area, fire and company officials said.

Two hours after the blast, evacuated employees were allowed to return to work.

“There was every kind of rumor going around,” said a woman employee in the crowd, who asked not to be identified. “People were saying that he just walked in the lab, flicked the light switch, and everything blew straight to hell.”

Wagner was described as friendly and reserved by his neighbors on Queen Victoria Road in the secluded Forest Hills area of Woodland Hills.

“I thought he was already retired,” said a neighbor, who asked not to be named. She said she often saw Wagner and his wife, Janet, walking by in the afternoons.

“They are nice, quiet people,” said neighbor Arline Stein.

Several Rocketdyne workers said that they thought the explosion was a fluke and that safety precautions at the facility were adequate.

“Safety in the plant is pretty stringent,” said machinist R. A. Casas.

“They have better standards than many corporations around the country. Your smaller companies are going to be more lax,” said Casas, a five-year veteran of Rocketdyne who said he has worked there and elsewhere making rockets for the space program since the 1960s.