Simi Valley Manufacturing Firm Gutted by Fire, at Least 1 Injured
A three-alarm fire destroyed a Simi Valley furniture manufacturing shop that contained toxic glues and solvents believed to have burned up in the flames, authorities said.
The blaze at Freedom Designs Inc. had already gutted three-quarters of the 100-by-200-foot concrete building when firefighters arrived at 8:34 p.m., Ventura County fire dispatcher Mark Taillon said.
A dozen fire trucks were called to the industrial park site at 310 E. Easy St. within 15 minutes, along with a hazardous materials team.
Taillon said the company used glues and solvents to make foam wheelchair pads and other upholstered goods. It shared an address with at least two other businesses, he said.
“The fire was confined primarily to that one business,” Simi Valley Police Lt. Neal Rein said. “The fire walls apparently stopped the fire from spreading.”
Nearly 60 firefighters had contained the blaze by 9:46 p.m. The cause was not known late Monday night.
Rein said at least one person was injured, a police officer who was treated for smoke inhalation.
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