LA HABRA : Chemical Fire at Plant Contained
Fire crews quickly contained a blaze Monday at a La Habra plant that makes fiberglass showers, averting what officials said could have been a “very hazardous situation.”
The fire occurred about 5:40 a.m. at the Hess Co. plant on 160 Foundation Drive when chemicals that an employee was mixing erupted into a fire, La Habra Fire Battalion Chief Mike McGroarty said.
Flames were sucked into the ventilation system, where chemical residue on the walls of the smokestacks also caught fire, McGroarty said. Flames could be seen shooting from the stacks 20 feet into air, he said.
The plant is equipped with a sprinkler system that helped the firefighters put out the blaze within 20 minutes, McGroarty said.
“Without the sprinklers, the whole building could have been lost. With the type of chemicals there, it could have been a very hazardous situation,” McGroarty said.
A cleanup crew employed by the company mopped up the contaminated water after the fire was put out, he said.
No one was injured, and the chemicals have been contained and do not pose a threat, McGroarty said.
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