Local News in Brief : Fountain Valley : Plant Fire Triggers Spill of Contaminated Water
About 2,500 gallons of water that was mixed with potentially hazardous chemicals flooded a city street Tuesday morning after a fire in a metal plating firm triggered an automatic sprinkler system that failed to shut off, authorities said.
The fire broke out about 6 a.m. at Omni Metal Finishing Inc., a metal plating firm in an industrial complex at 11665 Coley River Circle, according to Fire Capt. John Williams.
The blaze started in a tank of nickel sulfate, William said, and then spread to a nearby nitric acid tank. The sprinkler system doused the flames but did not shut off, causing the tanks to overflow and sending contaminated water out onto Coley River Circle and then Newhope Street.
Several businesses in the area were closed for about an hour as hazardous materials response teams cleaned up the spill. The area was cleared by 1:30 p.m. No one was injured in the incident.
Officials said the spill was “relatively harmless” as long as no one walked in or ingested the chemicals. Williams said damage was estimated at $45,000 to the building and $20,000 in cleanup costs.
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