Chemicals at Chatsworth Site Unaffected : Fire Causes $400,000 Damage at Plant

A fire at a Chatsworth electronics assembly plant caused $400,000 damage to the building Tuesday but did not affect hazardous chemicals stored inside, fire officials said. There were no injuries.

The blaze erupted shortly before 11 a.m. at the one-story building of Lai Circuits Inc., 20751 Marilla St., in an industrial section of Chatsworth. It took 70 firefighters 45 minutes to control the fire.

The cause of the fire was not known Tuesday, but arson investigators were called to the scene, said Battalion Chief John Sampson. Sampson said he believed the building was unoccupied when the fire broke out.

The first fire companies to arrive were unaware of the kinds of chemicals stored in the building but were alerted to the potential of hazards by a sign outside reading “corrosives,” said Capt. John Scherrei.

Attacked From Outside

“We immediately attacked the fire from the outside,” Scherrei said. Firefighters sprayed water from aerial ladders and the roof of adjacent building, he said. No evacuations of surrounding buildings were ordered, fire officials said, because the blaze was confined to the 11,250-square-foot building.

Fire officials said several containers of acids and oxidizers used in the production of circuit boards were found inside the building.

It was only after the fire had been extinguished that officials from the department’s hazardous material team confirmed that dangerous chemicals--including sulfuric acid and ammonium persulfate --were stored in the drums.

If ignited, ammonium persulfate emits irritating or poisonous gases. Sulfuric acid can react with water, causing explosive spattering, and is a strong irritant to body tissues, according to Fire Department spokesman Vince Marzo.

A fire March 11 caused more than $3 million in damage to a printing plant across the alley from the site of Tuesday’s blaze. Sampson said the cause of the fire at the printing company is still under investigation by arson detectives.