52 Firefighters Treated in Chemical Firm Blaze

Fifty-two firefighters were treated at hospitals Saturday night after coming in contact with smoke and fumes while battling a blaze that destroyed a Sun Valley chemical distributing firm where radioactive chemicals and other flammable and hazardous chemicals were stored, fire officials said.

All but six of the firefighters were released from six San Fernando Valley area hospitals after blood tests were taken, fire officials said. The firefighters, who were the first to arrive at the blaze, complained of nausea, respiratory difficulties and dizziness.

Four were admitted to Serra Memorial Hospital and two to Burbank Community Hospital for observation; all were in stable condition, fire officials said.

An official with the Los Angeles County Health Department Hazardous Materials Unit said that a small amount of uranium and thorium was contained in at least one drum that was destroyed in the fire but that the levels of radioactivity were minuscule and posed no public hazard.

“We only got readings in one spot, in a pool of water where the drum leaked,” said Jim Rowles, radiation manager with the hazardous materials unit. “Outside of that one spot everything is normal.”

The bulk of the chemicals stored at Research Organic and Inorganic Chemicals Co. at 9068 De Garmo Ave. were “class B flammable” acids and corrosives, which means they are in the same category as gasoline and paint removers, said Battalion Chief Randy L. Wallace.

Fire officials were unsure, however, what other chemicals were stored in the one-story, 100-by-200-foot brick structure, and when firefighters began complaining of respiratory problems they were ordered to the hospital, Wallace said.

“At this point it looks like the problem is contained inside the building,” he said.

As a precaution, firefighters diked the gutters surrounding the fire so that most of the runoff water could be flushed with additional water before entering the sewage system, Wallace said.

The cause of the fire, which broke out shortly after 3 p.m., was not known and no monetary damage had been assessed Saturday night, Wallace said. When firefighters arrived, flames were shooting through the roof and several explosions sent a shower of sparks through the air.

“It looked like fireworks and sounded like thunder,” one firefighter said.

It took an hour to extinguish the blaze, and a six-block area around Truxford Street and Glenoaks Boulevard was cordoned off for several hours. The firm, which packages chemicals and distributes them to universities and other research companies, is in an industrial area of Sun Valley.

Firefighters exposed to the smoke were washed down at the scene before they were transported to the hospitals. Fire officials planned on staying at the scene all night. Wallace said that today, when fire and county hazardous materials officials can safely enter the building, a chemical inventory will be taken to determine how the materials should be removed.

Late last night a private chemical removal company, Industrial Tank Corp., was called to begin assessing cleanup, fire officials said.