The Region : Fears of Toxic Cloud Cause Evacuation

Fears of a toxic gas cloud from a fire at a metal plating plant led to the evacuation of more than 100 residents of a Burbank neighborhood for about six hours, but contamination was contained in the damaged building, fire officials said. Firefighters evacuated the neighborhood because they knew that the Dynamic Plating Corp. plant at 1102 Isabel St. contained cyanide, Burbank Fire Department Battalion Chief Ken Whittekiend said. Authorities later determined that no cyanide or other toxins escaped into the atmosphere, said Erlinda A. Macalintal, an environmental health officer with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. The cause of the fire was being investigated, Whittekiend said.