Noxious Fumes Force Evacuation of Houses
Household cleaning fluid and other solvents mingling in a garbage truck Tuesday created noxious fumes that forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents along a Lancaster street, fire officials said.
County hazardous-materials teams, called out about 11:20 a.m., worked for several hours to determine the source of smoke emanating from a garbage truck parked on 12th Street West near West Avenue J-10, Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman Clark Pearson said.
About 500 residents were evacuated shortly before 1 p.m. as a precautionary measure, and part of 12th Street was blocked off, Pearson said.
Fire Capt. John Fictor said the fumes appeared to be the result of a reaction of household chemicals that mixed in the truck. Firefighters found bottles containing a chlorine-based cleaner, some type of acid and old paint.
“When they started compacting the trash, it broke the containers and they mixed, and a little puff came out,” Fictor said.
He said residents were allowed to return to their homes by about 2:30 p.m. No injuries were reported.
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