Investigators Won’t Enter Toxic Burned Building

A building gutted in a chemical fire in Ventura is so contaminated with toxic materials that firefighters decided against entering it Monday to investigate the cause of the three-alarm blaze.

Instead, investigators said they will rely on newspaper stories, eyewitness testimony and photographs to determine what started the fire that did more than $1 million in damage to Janus Enterprises Inc., a computer circuit-board manufacturer.

“It’s too hazardous with chemicals,” said Barry Simmons of the Ventura Fire Department. “We decided not to investigate in the building.”

Simmons said the special chemical suits that investigators usually wear in such cases could not protect them from the mixtures of metals and acids found at the business. Even on Monday, firefighters and bystanders across the street from the building complained of headaches, he said.

State Department of Fish and Game officials, concerned about possible toxic pollution of the Santa Clara River, began testing storm drains on Monday for toxic runoff that may have been washed out of the building by water used to douse the fire.

The blaze erupted at 6:46 p.m. Sunday in the industrial section of McGrath Street, sending up a cloud of dark smoke that was visible in many parts of Ventura. Firefighters said they had it under control in less than an hour.

Four firefighters, who entered the building Sunday evening in hopes of quickly squelching the blaze, were taken to Ventura County Medical Center as a safety measure and later released.

No one was injured.

Business owners and curious onlookers were evacuated Sunday from a square-block area--bordered by Eastman Avenue, Palma Drive, McGrath Street and Ortega Street--because of the potentially dangerous acid fumes, Simmons said.

On Monday, the block remained cordoned off as various county agencies began preparations to clean up the waste.

The agencies involved were the Ventura city Fire Department, the city Hazardous Materials Team, the Ventura County Hazardous Response Team, the state Department of Fish and Game, the Ventura County Department of Environmental Health and the Ventura County Office of Emergency Services.

During the fire, 150 plastic containers--many holding about 25 gallons of acid mixed with diluted minerals--melted and spilled hazardous materials on the floor, said Greg Smith of the county Department of Environmental Health.

They remain puddled on the floor of the 10,000-square-foot building, Smith said.

A private company, the Disposal Control Service of Upland, is scheduled to begin cleaning up the area sometime tomorrow afternoon, Smith said.

Lab readings show that pools of liquid that spread throughout the building contain four times the toxic level of copper, Smith said.

It appears, he said, that the acid was neutralized during the chemical reactions that took place during the fire.

Another 149 chemicals and solutions, many deemed to be hazardous, are believed to be present in the building that housed the 17-year-old business, Smith said.

In addition, officials are concerned about the chemicals and minerals--such as copper and lead--carried out of the building by the about 250,000 gallons of water used to fight the fire, Simmons said.

The water flows into storm drains that lead to the Santa Clara River.

The state Department of Fish and Game began testing water at storm drains in the area to make sure the minerals are at levels low enough not to injure fish, said Lt. Reed Smith of Fish and Game.

“We’re afraid of the death of fish, frogs and crayfish,” Smith said.

“Fish and eggs are much more susceptible to those kinds of materials than humans.”

About half an hour after crews arrived, two sand berms were built to stop the water from flowing into storm drains.

The trapped water was vacuumed up by pump trucks, which will deliver the toxic liquid to a hazardous waste center, Smith said.

The copper and lead pose a minimal hazard to humans unless ingested, Smith said.

Officials said the fire would have been much worse if it had spread to two 1,500-gallon storage tanks and a 3,500-gallon waste tank that hold additional hazardous materials in the back of the building.