National City Fire Causes Evacuation of 1,900 : Smoke From Blaze at Auto Scrap Yard Clears 3 Schools

About 1,900 people, including 1,700 children from three schools, were evacuated Friday when officials feared that a smoldering fire at a National City auto wrecking yard would unleash toxic fumes.

County health officials determined later in the day, however, that the fire, which left one man hospitalized with second-degree burns but otherwise caused only minor injuries, had not released any toxic particles.

The blaze began Thursday night about 10 p.m. deep inside a massive pile of scrap metal at Pacific Steel Inc. on Cleveland Avenue. It was extinguished about 5 p.m. Friday.

Concern over the fire was magnified because Pacific Steel is the only scrap yard in the county authorized by the state to store “fluff,” which is hazardous, non-ferrous waste such as vinyl mats and battery cases that are removed from cars before they are shredded.

Technicians from the county Department of Air Pollution Control took smoke samples at the site Friday afternoon to determine if toxic materials were burning in the scrap pile. Patrick Stalnaker, spokesman for the county Health Department, said that the tests showed no evidence of toxic particles in the smoke. As a result, about 200 residents who were evacuated from a five-block area around the fire were allowed to return to their homes at 5 p.m.

Smoke Reaches Classrooms

National Elementary School District officials had decided to move 700 students from Kimball and John A. Otis elementary schools at 9:50 a.m., when smoke from the fire wafted inside the classrooms. Sweetwater Union High School District officials evacuated about 1,000 students from National City Junior High at about the same time.

The elementary school students were first taken in buses to Las Palmas Park, but the wind shifted and the park was quickly blanketed by smoke. The children were then transferred to El Toyon Park , near the San Diego city limits, and later to El Toyon Elementary School. The junior high school students were bused to the Chula Vista High School football field.

There were no injuries reported among the students. But about a dozen people, including two National City police officers, received minor injuries, and one man was listed in fair condition at the UC San Diego Medical Center Burn Unit with second-degree burns on his right arm. A hospital spokeswoman identified the man as Marion Nixon, 44, who is believed to be a Pacific Steel employee.

National City Fire Chief Randy Kimble said that firefighters had been unable to extinguish the “deep-seated” fire because tons of debris that made up a mountain of scrap metal had to be removed piece by piece to get to the hot spot. A crane and bulldozers were being used to remove the debris. Kimble said that as many as 30 firefighters had been at the scene since the fire was reported Thursday night.

Officials were not sure what started the fire, but Stalnaker said that some investigators believe it may have begun from gasoline inside the fuel tank of a crushed car.

A command post was established at a closed fire station on the 2100 block of Tidelands Avenue, where fire officials from National City, Chula Vista and San Diego were joined by county officials and about 25 officers from area law enforcement agencies, including the California Highway Patrol and National City, Chula Vista and San Diego police departments.

CHP officers were prepared to shut down Interstate 5 if the smoke test revealed the presence of toxic particles. The Cleveland Avenue scrap yard is about two blocks west of Interstate 5. The San Diego and Chula Vista officers were ready to block off the streets leading to and from National City near the fire area if necessary.

Confusion Over Evacuation

Information about the fire and the evacuation was sketchy and confusing throughout the day. At one point in the afternoon, officials were not certain how many residents had been evacuated from the fire area, a mixture of industrial, commercial and residential units.

Stalnaker, who was acting as media spokesman, said that officially only four people--two National City officers and a 29-year-old woman and her 5-year-old son--had been slightly injured from smoke inhalation. However, Lina Tucker, nursing supervisor at Paradise Valley Hospital, said that one person was admitted there and seven others were treated and released. All complained of respiratory problems.

Scripps Memorial Hospital in Chula Vista reported that five people who also complained of respiratory problems were treated in the emergency room and released.

The evacuation of the schoolchildren was also accomplished amid some confusion. Spokesmen for the National City and Sweetwater school districts said that school officials made the decision to evacuate the schools independent of the National City Fire Department.

Max Branscomb, National Elementary School District spokesman, said that the Fire Department warned school officials “about the possible harmful side effects” of the fire but did not order the schools evacuated.

Chief Kimble said that, despite uncertainties about whether toxic materials were burning, he did not think it was necessary to order the schools or immediate area evacuated. The fluff, or toxic materials, were piled about 100 feet from the burning scrap heap, said Kimble.

“We hadn’t confirmed that what we had was a toxic fire,” Kimble said. “The fluff was not on fire. It was the scrap metal that caught on fire.”

Branscomb and Larry Laxson, spokesman for the Sweetwater School District, said they were satisfied with the way the Fire Department and other officials handled the evacuation process.

But George Cameron, assistant superintendent with the National Elementary School District, said that the evacuation of the two elementary schools began before school officials were notified of the fire, which had been burning at least 10 hours before the beginning of classes.

“We just went ahead and evacuated because they (students and teachers) smelled the fumes before we were even notified,” said Cameron. Hartson Ambulance Service had seven ambulance and paramedic units at the command post and a communications center. Hartson officials had made arrangements to take patients to several local hospitals in the event of a widespread emergency.

Times staff writer Bobbie Jo Lee contributed to this story.