1,200 Evacuated at Rockwell Plant After Fire Next to Chemical Tank

About 1,200 people were evacuated this morning from a Rockwell International plant in Canoga Park after a fire erupted next to a chemical storage tank in a building where space shuttle engines are manufactured, authorities said.

Authorities said 57 people were examined by paramedics and doctors after complaining of feeling ill from fumes that may have escaped from the tank; 10, including three Rocketdyne firefighters, were hospitalized for observation after the fire at Rockwell’s Rocketdyne Division in the 6600 block of Canoga Avenue.

The fire was spotted about 9:20 a.m. next to a 900-gallon tank containing a highly toxic mixture of hydrofluoric and nitric acids and water that is used to clean stainless steel components of shuttle engines, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

“There were people working in the area at the time, but they got out right away,” said Pat Coulter, spokesman for Rocketdyne.

Dan Boyd, manager of the area where the fire broke out, said he saw flames seven feet high next to the tank. The cause of the fire was still under investigation, but Assistant Fire Chief Alan Schroeder said the blaze may have been caused by a chemical reaction.

The fire was in the sprawling plant’s Building 1, a huge hangar-like shop where the shuttle engines are built, and two adjoining floors of engineers and designers’ offices. The building was closed for the day after the evacuation and the employees were sent home, officials said.

Schroeder said no liquid chemicals escaped from the tank and the leakage of fumes was probably minor. That led to some discrepancy in how authorities viewed the number of injuries.

“We did have inhalation injuries--nobody we would describe as being serious,” Assistant Chief Paramedic A. N. Norman said.

Schroeder said that some of the complaints of illness were probably a reaction caused by hysteria.

“There probably were some fumes in the building and any time people work in a building like this and they get a whiff of something . . . , “ Schroeder said. “We send them to the hospital to determine if it is hysteria or an actual reaction to a chemical.”

Several people examined at the scene complained of scratchy throats, dizziness and nausea. Most said, however, that the evacuation proceeded quickly and orderly, as with company safety drills.

“I think it was handled pretty smoothly, mainly due to the previous training that employees have had,” said a man who complained of a sore throat after the evacuation. “There is a potential here for chemical hazards, and it’s important that everybody here is well trained to handled this type of situation.”

The fire was initially fought by three Rocketdyne firefighters and then put out when city firefighters arrived, officials said. A total of 80 firefighters and five paramedic teams were called to the plant.